The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/16/07 Section: Commentary

The Georgia Board of Education recently echoed its state legislature by approving two new courses for the forthcoming school year - the Literature and History of the Old Testament Era and the Literature and History of the New Testament Era. Critics have claimed that allowing these courses to be taught in public schools is tantamount to using state funds to endorse religion and teach religious education. While these concerns have to be expected, as any use of a religious text in a governmental institution is likely to raise eyebrows, in this case they are largely unwarranted. The state of Georgia has taken the proper steps to ensure that the Bible is taught as a piece of literature and taught only to students willing to learn about it. So long as these rules are properly enforced, the board of education's decision should pose no threat to the separation between church and state.

Last fall, the Georgia legislature made clear that the courses in question are designed to teach the Bible as a literary text, and not as the words of the divine. According to the measure, the book is to be taught "in an objective and non-devotional manner, with no attempt made to indoctrinate students." Further protecting students from potential proselytization is the fact that school districts have the option of offering or not offering these courses, and that no school district may make these courses mandatory. Thus, students not comfortable taking these classes would not be forced to learn about Christianity against their will.

Still, the question remains - why teach the Bible? Like it or not, Christianity has had an indelible influence upon Western Civilization. Some of the finest Western art and literature - everything from Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" and Michelangelo's work on the Sistine Chapel to Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage" and John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" - is rich with Christian imagery and symbolism. Likewise, struggles between the various Christian sects have shaped much of European and American history - see the Thirty Years' War, France's Bloody Sunday and the formations of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island as a few of the many examples. By offering a class on the Bible, Georgia will be providing Christians and non-Christians alike a basis for understanding how the West has progressed through the centuries.

While Georgia's decision to allow courses on the Bible has caused an uproar, the language of the state's law is careful enough to prevent a government endorsement of religion. So long as there is a necessary amount of oversight and no teachers are allowed to preach Christianity to their students, teaching the Bible as a literary text in the classroom should not be a problem.

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