Authorities in Texas have voted to require that the Bible be taught in schools. They’ve already forced educators to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
As far as the Bible as a textbook is concerned, it contains lots of stories. Some are well told, others less so. There is a great deal of redundancy.
The stories are anecdotal in nature, as the authors provide little in the way of documentation. From a journalistic perspective, you could say the book would benefit from a strong edit.
But all of that said, I think it is generally a good thing for everyone to know about the stories in the Bible and their meaning. It is an essential part of Judeo-Christian history, and therefore critical for understanding how we got from there to here.
Students need to be capable of critical thinking before taking on this task. High school or college would be the ideal place to study the Bible, I believe, not elementary school as in Texas.
And the problem with the Texas approach is that it blurs, if not violates the separation of church and state, which is a cornerstone of our democracy.
Politically, the Texas initiative is part of a conservative push to suppress religious diversity and impose a form of Christian nationalism on everybody.
“Kids of all faith backgrounds and no faith are served by Texas schools and they should all feel welcome in Texas schools,” said Elva Mendoza, legislative communications associate for the progressive Texas Freedom Network. “But this is sending the message to children that one and only one religious text — a Christian one — is worthy of making this required reading list.”
Ultimately, the legality of the Texas approach will probably be decided by the courts.
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