Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools
A friend of mine who is an atheist recently wrote an entry concerning the teaching of the Bible as literature in Texan high schools. I requested for his permission to reproduce his post here, and he allowed me to do so. Note that he had two earlier posts addressing the issue.
I have posted twice before about the Texas legislature's decision to make it mandatory for the public schools to teach the Bible as literature. About a year ago I said that the author of the bill, Rep. Warren Chisum, seemed ignorant and confused about literary studies, and that his agenda seemed to me transparently evangelical. Then about a month ago I said that "most of the people commenting on the subject are revealing their deep confusion about literature, education, religion, and the First Amendment" and that although it was possible that Texas teachers and administrators might resist the temptation to proselytize, I didn't have particularly high hopes. Well it turns out that the situation for local school boards was worse than I realized:
[T]he law provides no specific guidelines, funding for materials or teacher training. So high schools are left scrambling to figure out what to teach and how to teach it. A handful of North Texas districts are offering an elective class, but most are choosing instead to embed Old and New Testament teachings into current classes.
[...]
"Asking a school district to teach a course or include material in a course without providing them any guidance or resources is like sending a teacher into a minefield without a map," said Mark Chancey, an associate professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University and author of the report "Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools."
The University of Texas at Austin held a Bible study training workshop over the summer, but unfortunately only 19 teachers attended. Teaching the Bible in public schools already promised to be a tricky proposition; teaching the Bible in public schools without proper training and clear guidelines for teachers is a recipe for disaster. A civil liberties group called the Texas Freedom Network has already commissioned a study, and the results are about what you would expect. The study, entitled "Reading, Writing and Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools," reveals that "most of the elective Bible courses currently offered in 25 Texas school districts are taught as 'religious and devotional classes that promote one faith perspective over all others.'" It gets worse:
Most of the classes are taught by teachers with no academic training in religious or biblical studies and most present only a fundamentalist Protestant view of the Bible. In some districts, local clergy teach the course. Many of the teachers use instructional materials recommended by the Bible council, including videos that teach “creation science.”
Some of the Texas districts go so far as to teach students that the Bible is divinely inspired and “anyone who reads the Bible with open mind and heart is convinced that the Bible is God’s word to man” to quote a workbook used in one district. This is faith formation - the responsibility of families and religious communities. It has no place in a public school.
So the whole thing is a shameful disaster all around. I haven't heard about any lawsuits yet, but I can only assume they're coming.
Generally, most people responding to this on the english_majors and atheist community feel that this is a regrettable state. Since most of the opinion I've heard were from a non-religious perspective, I was curious as to how members of this community would think about this. Do you, as Christians, feel that an opportunity to teach the Bible as literature allows for a chance to confront the increasing atheistic and secular tendency of our education system? Or do you believe that teaching the Bible risks a trespassing of legal or constitutional boundaries separating church and state?
Has anyone taken a Bible as literature course at a high school / secondary school level, and what is your experience with the class?
I have posted twice before about the Texas legislature's decision to make it mandatory for the public schools to teach the Bible as literature. About a year ago I said that the author of the bill, Rep. Warren Chisum, seemed ignorant and confused about literary studies, and that his agenda seemed to me transparently evangelical. Then about a month ago I said that "most of the people commenting on the subject are revealing their deep confusion about literature, education, religion, and the First Amendment" and that although it was possible that Texas teachers and administrators might resist the temptation to proselytize, I didn't have particularly high hopes. Well it turns out that the situation for local school boards was worse than I realized:
[T]he law provides no specific guidelines, funding for materials or teacher training. So high schools are left scrambling to figure out what to teach and how to teach it. A handful of North Texas districts are offering an elective class, but most are choosing instead to embed Old and New Testament teachings into current classes.
[...]
"Asking a school district to teach a course or include material in a course without providing them any guidance or resources is like sending a teacher into a minefield without a map," said Mark Chancey, an associate professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University and author of the report "Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools."
The University of Texas at Austin held a Bible study training workshop over the summer, but unfortunately only 19 teachers attended. Teaching the Bible in public schools already promised to be a tricky proposition; teaching the Bible in public schools without proper training and clear guidelines for teachers is a recipe for disaster. A civil liberties group called the Texas Freedom Network has already commissioned a study, and the results are about what you would expect. The study, entitled "Reading, Writing and Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools," reveals that "most of the elective Bible courses currently offered in 25 Texas school districts are taught as 'religious and devotional classes that promote one faith perspective over all others.'" It gets worse:
Most of the classes are taught by teachers with no academic training in religious or biblical studies and most present only a fundamentalist Protestant view of the Bible. In some districts, local clergy teach the course. Many of the teachers use instructional materials recommended by the Bible council, including videos that teach “creation science.”
Some of the Texas districts go so far as to teach students that the Bible is divinely inspired and “anyone who reads the Bible with open mind and heart is convinced that the Bible is God’s word to man” to quote a workbook used in one district. This is faith formation - the responsibility of families and religious communities. It has no place in a public school.
So the whole thing is a shameful disaster all around. I haven't heard about any lawsuits yet, but I can only assume they're coming.
Generally, most people responding to this on the english_majors and atheist community feel that this is a regrettable state. Since most of the opinion I've heard were from a non-religious perspective, I was curious as to how members of this community would think about this. Do you, as Christians, feel that an opportunity to teach the Bible as literature allows for a chance to confront the increasing atheistic and secular tendency of our education system? Or do you believe that teaching the Bible risks a trespassing of legal or constitutional boundaries separating church and state?
Has anyone taken a Bible as literature course at a high school / secondary school level, and what is your experience with the class?