Rhetoric heats up in battle over Bible in public schools

On the other hand, by Frank Ameduri

Last week the Frontiersman ran a Web poll question that asked readers if they favored a Bible elective course in public schools. It was the closest vote on our site in a long time. The best issues always have lines drawn very near the center. My question is not whether the Bible can be taught as literature, or even whether it has historical or social relevance in our culture. Clearly it can be read as literature, and obviously, it is more than a little relevant in our culture.

My question is, does the Bible belong in public schools, and if so, why? The proponents of this proposal first said they didn't want to force a specific set of morals upon students. In the very next breath they said a dose of the Bible is just what our immoral society needs right now. It will only be an elective, they say. So who is most likely to take an elective course about the Bible? I'm guessing most of the students in the class will recognize each other from church, and so the class will likely do little to expose the great unwashed to Christian thought.

I do agree that religious tolerance is a two-way street. Society's part is to allow religions to operate without government interference, and to allow people to choose the faith that best suits them and practice it free from persecution. The Church's part -- in exchange for that freedom and some nice tax breaks -- is to refrain from political intervention and to respect the rights of all other people to worship as they choose. To select one religious text to present in public schools seems to walk dangerously close to that line of intolerance. The answer is not to open public schools to all religious texts. The answer is to worship at church and to study at school. If you prefer to do both in the same place, there are private schools for that purpose. They are protected, too.

Another troubling aspect is that this seems to be another instance of burdening the public schools with a task best handled by families. If there is a lack of knowledge about the Bible or morality, it is not a failure of public schools. It was never their responsibility to begin with.

My concern is not that the Bible will lead impressionable students to piety. My concern is that each time we blur the line between church and state we do open a window to intolerance, like it or not. While we are a nation filled with good Christians, we should not mistakenly assume we are a Christian nation. Our greatness is in our ability to protect, and treat fairly, people of all faiths.

Frank Ameduri is the managing editor of the Frontiersman.