Approved by Jews, Muslims, and the NEA

The Bible and Public Schools, a First Amendment Guide was published in 1999 by the National Bible Association and First Amendment Center. The surprising number of diverse organizations that endorsed the Guide includes the following:

American Association of School Administrators
American Federation of Teachers
American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Congress
Anti-Defamation League
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs
Christian Educators Association International
Christian Legal Society
Council on Islamic Education
National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A
National Council for the Social Studies
National Education Association
National School Boards Association
People for the American Way Foundation
Union of American Hebrew Congregations

Four pertinent points are included in the Guide:

• Many Americans continue to hold the mistaken view that the Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s concerning prayer and devotional Bible-reading prohibited students from expressing their faith in a public school. Actually, the Court did not eliminate prayer or the Bible from public schools, it barred state-sponsored religious practices, including devotional use of the Bible by public school officials.
• Educators widely agree that study about religion, where appropriate, is an important part of a complete education. Part of that study includes learning about the Bible in courses such as literature and history. Knowledge of biblical stories and concepts contributes to our understanding of literature, history, law, art, and contemporary society. [emphasis added]
• When teaching about the Bible in a public school, teachers must understand the important distinction between advocacy, indoctrination, proselytizing, and the practice of religion - which is unconstitutional - and teaching about religion that is objective, nonjudgmental, academic, neutral, balanced, and fair - which is constitutional.
• Much drama, poetry, and fiction contain material from the Bible.

Thus the writers and endorsers of the First Amendment Guide concur with the rationale of the Hamilton County Department of Education and the Public School Bible Study Committee. While practicing or promoting religion in public schools is both inappropriate and unconstitutional, teaching the Bible as an academic subject is not. Because of its impact on drama, poetry, fiction, history, law, art, and contemporary society, the Bible should be taught in our public schools. Knowledge of biblical stories and concepts contributes greatly to our students' understanding of American culture and, in fact, Western civilization. To deprive our students of such an opportunity would be an educational injustice which, fortunately, we in Hamilton County, Tennessee, have the ability to avoid.