Arizona Bible Course Bill To Teach Elective In Public Schools Passes Senate, Goes To Gov. Jan Brewer

An Arizona bill that creates a high school course for public and charter school students that teaches the Bible and its role in Western culture is headed to the Republican Gov. Jan Brewer's desk for approval.

The state Senate approved House Bill 2563 Thursday with a vote of 21-9. It was approved by the House in February.

Under the proposal, the state Board of Education must design a high school elective course titled "The Bible and its influence on Western Culture," which would include lessons on the history, literature and influence of the Old and New testaments on laws, government and culture, among other aspects of society.

The course must follow state and federal laws in maintaining religious neutrality, and credits from the course would count toward student graduation. Students are also not to be required to use a specific version of the Bible. Republican state Rep. Terri Proud, who sponsored the bill, said the proposals are written in a way that make it clear that teachers can teach the Bible "in a very restricted way."

"A lot of it has to do with debunking a lot of ignorance that our districts are trying to force upon the teachers," Proud told The Republic in January. "There are people out there who hate the Bible and everything about it. That's fine, but don't deprive our children of biblical literature because of your personal feelings."

Proud says students would benefit from learning about the Bible as foundational, basic knowledge. Arizona state law doesn't ban the use of the Bible or other religious texts in the classroom as long as it is being used for academic purposes without intent on religious indoctrination.

"It is everywhere around us, and to say that I don't want my child exposed to that, then we might as well not have air and breathe because it is implemented into our society," Proud previously told MyFox Phoenix.

Critics are troubled by the bills, arguing that teaching religion and the Bible is tricky -- and teachers are often not sufficiently or properly trained to teach the subject effectively.

If Brewer signs the bill, Arizona would become the sixth state to allow districts to offer a high school elective Bible course. Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina are currently the only ones with laws permitting these courses. Other states like Kentucky have introduced similar proposals, but the bills have failed to be come law.

HB 2563 is one of two coursework-related proposals by Proud. HB 2473, which is still in the House, would allow high schools to offer an elective course on the "critical evaluation and examination of the Bible as a literary work" beginning June 30, 2013.

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State Lawmaker Wants Public Schools to Offer Elective Bible Class: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Comments

[Toby in Kansas]

10:22 PM on 05/26/2012

I dislike the bible and everything associated with it, but I see nothing wrong with this class being taught to high schoolers. It's apparently as elective, so what's the big deal?

[VyckRo]

09:08 PM on 05/26/2012

"The Bible has had more influence upon Western civilization then any other book. So splendid are its phrases that many have taken them to be the unmediated word of God. Since its texts were gathered together the book has been venerated and enshrined,execrated, and burned.But whether we are believers or not the Bible still remains our heritage,the linchpin of modern civilization. It has provided the West with a sense of the sacred,and our sense of historical destiny"
J. Romer-Testament TheBible and History

Without having basic knowledge about the Bible, a student can not even begin to understand Western culture, and that without even mention Shakespeare or Gheote

[Ganji]

12:46 AM on 04/20/2012

I have no problem with this since liberals are trying to get schools to teach homosexuality..tit for tat

[lady1969]

12:39 PM on 04/18/2012

Well why not offer a class, I feel that it may give students a better insight on the bible and with all the out of control things kids do these days , disrespectful , cursing, being dishonest, teachers catch hell from students why not offer the bible class you don’t have to deal with it. What harm would it do? We deal with your ungrateful children out of control back talking kids why not offer the class. maybe you should teach your own kids at home first how to respect adults , maybe you should come and sit in a class watch how out of control you future generation is, they are so lost come on parent be a support to you students and see what going on in their schools.

[Amie Nogrady]

03:07 AM on 04/19/2012

Teaching from the bible should be done at church or at home NOT in a public school, that is why. Teachers are for teaching, not preaching.

[VyckRo]

09:23 PM on 05/26/2012

Without basic knowledge about the Bible entire literature of the West has no meaning!

[Tmiley]

09:47 PM on 04/17/2012

I want to see a class taught on World Religions and let the students get a much larger world view.

[Amie Nogrady]

03:07 AM on 04/19/2012

The religious people would never go for that because for Cat's sake, little Timmy might learn about something beyond the bible.

[jhershberger]

07:38 PM on 04/30/2012

There are a ton of schools that teach World Religions. I took a class on World Religions last year in High School. Every school in Central Oregon has a World Religions class.

[Zach4141]

02:49 PM on 04/17/2012

As long as it's an ELECTIVE, I have no problem with it. Responsible and educated parents will keep their kids in math, science, computer, and language classes to prepare them for college, or support their children going to trade schools to learn hands-on skills that will help them get steady jobs. If the religious drones want to keep pushing Bible study, let them.....the world needs waiters and shelf-stockers too.

[SangZe]

12:09 PM on 04/17/2012

Well, God damn!

[Shebrew11]

11:06 AM on 04/17/2012

There's no denying the influence of the Bible, especially when it comes to classes like English Literature.

It's just a matter of whether or not the teachers will be equipped to teach it from an academic standpoint and not a religious standpoint.

[wakuwakuwak]

10:22 AM on 04/17/2012

It's about time schools started exercising their constitutional right to teach the Bible in public schools. I've been pushing for more schools to teach it for a long time. How you could go through the public education system without reading the Bible is one of the biggest travesties in America.
Shame on those who want to deprave our children of literature!

[SangZe]

12:11 PM on 04/17/2012

Even worse, how can you go through and not read anything at all?

The bible is good literature, and its stories are part of the western mythos, but students should also be required read other religious literatures.

[CanadianSkeptic]

01:23 PM on 04/17/2012

I wouldn't call not reading the Bible any more a "travesty" than not reading any other great literary work. However, I do agree that an academic religious studies class could be very beneficial as many people seem to be ignorant of the different religions and their impacts.

[stargazer5]

08:32 AM on 04/17/2012

Who monitors what the teachers are discussing about the Bible? And, in order to "teach" a course on the "cultural" aspects of something as complex as the Bible would require, at the very least, a degree in Biblical history, would it not? The average public high school teacher has no where near the expertise to do this properly. And, just by it's very nature, great portions of the book will be skipped over: the myriad rapes, mass murders, sodomy, "dashing of little ones on the rocks," and assorted other violence. We all know that the sponsors of this ridiculous bill are conservative Christians, the ONLY contingent of any organized religion that so aggressively forces their superstition on the rest of us!

[Liz Norman]

11:50 PM on 04/16/2012

After carefully reviewing the final bill, I've come to the conclusion that he Arizona Legislature have no idea what they are doing. The end result of the law will result in a classic "Bible Study" class taught by someone without any need for competence in the subject.

A properly constructed course on "The Bible and its influence on Western Culture" would typically be a course at the college level and require many sources only one of which would be the Bible. The instructor would be a highly skilled person with multi-discipline credentials at the PhD level or it would be taught by multiple people to cover the disciplines required.
Most universities don't have the proper people in staff to present this type of coarse as an elective. A board of Education wouldn't be able to do it and there isn't a team of high school teachers in the country who would be competent to teach it. Limiting the resources to Arizona would make it impossible.

The end result can only be a Bible study class, which is a violation of the Bill of Rights. So if this becomes law, Arizona is going to be in court trying to defend this and is going to loose.

[stargazer5]

08:37 AM on 04/17/2012

Ah, Liz, I should've read your comprehensive comment before making my own. Really well said! Also, the story said AZ would follow at least 6 other states that have implemented similar courses. Do you know how those courses are being conducted?

[Liz Norman]

01:43 PM on 04/17/2012

No but I can't imagine them being any different. High school students just don't have the education or analytical skills to handle a course like this unless it was just a Bible study course (I doubt if there are any high school teachers that do either). If done properly, it would be a challenge for a grad student.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/student-interest-in-bible-classes-dropping-in-ga-other-states-59661/

[bellaganj]

07:31 PM on 04/16/2012

parents should be teaching the bible to their children at home if that's what they want to do. school isn't the only place people learn. but if the crazies in arizona want this in their schools, all religions should be covered.

[Robert A Hayes]

05:23 PM on 04/16/2012

"where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise" some folly... some are ignorant, but all should have the choice.

[i3lackops]

03:22 PM on 04/16/2012

Can they also teach criticism? Such as it was written by men, changed by kings who wanted their own viewpoints put in, interpreted by those who changed the tone, and are mostly collections of stories that were collected by the catholic church and given to people as the only authority.

[canamrock]

08:59 PM on 04/17/2012

lol Yes... seems like fair would be fair, right? There is a lot of controversy over many parts of the Bible, and it would be unseemly if we allowed the Bible to be taught without addressing these very real criticisms that Big Bible wants to hide.

But seriously, I love how Arizona is trying to achieve Poe's Law status as a governing body. I'd have much more respect if they were doing something of an entry-level "religion and its relation with societies" to cover several holy texts along with the Bible, but that would be madness.

[TruEngineHearing]

01:42 PM on 04/16/2012

It's like a horror film where mutants take over America because some General misunderstands the President's order and instead of testing the Atomic Bomb 'in' the American Southwest, he tests it 'on' the Southwest, creating sun-dried right-wing zombies that terrorize everyone - and vote!

[stargazer5]

08:40 AM on 04/17/2012

LOL!!!