Would you be offended if your child brought home a bible he/she was given in a public school?

Question

A public school in Annapolis, MO has been ordered by a federal Judge to end a bible give-away program for fifth graders. Judge Catherine Perry said that the Elementary School wrongly allowed the bible handouts because the sole purpose was to promote Christianity.

Please share your thoughts and opinions on this.

Answer 1

I think young people should be exposed to everything. They study theories about everything at school....why not allow them the opportunity to make up their own minds about Christianity themselves. I dont think giving people Bibles is shoving religion down anyones throat. Giving a Bible to someone doesnt mean they have to read it. The Law has gone too far. I am not a fanatical Christian by any means....I believe their is a higher power, and I would like to believe there is a life after this one....a better one. Is giving hope to people a bad thing. I think the Bible is about the only book around that will give people that hope. I also think the teachings of the Bible have been abused by religious leaders to gain power. But, the Bible itself is a pretty interesting book to read and it needs to be read in order to understand and decide for yourself if there is any creedance to it. Like one person said, Bibles are expensive, so if one is given to you, then grab it....Its just another learning tool, but the ultimate choice to believe is yours.

Answer 2

In my youth, the Gideons often visited schools, both public and private, and handed out Bibles. They did this frequently, and there's only so much Scripture a kid can read. The result is that they completely trivialized the Bible. Those little New Testaments became throwaway items. The only people who really used them were the high school kids who tore out the pages and used them as rolling papers for joints (I'm serious). Who needs another Bible when you've already got a huge stack of them at home collecting dust? The covers were usually green and kind of rubbery in feel, and they were commonly referred to as "green rubber doorstops". If you're going to actually be reading a Bible, it's probably going to be a full-sized one with legible print anyway, not one of the tiny, hard-to-read versions that are handed out at school.

I believe in the separation of church and state, and don't feel that Bibles should be distributed on public school grounds. It's not as if children won't be exposed to the Bible in this predominantly Christian culture. If they want a Bible, they're priced anywhere from ten cents to free at any thrift store in the nation, or very easily checked out from the public library. It's not as if the country's facing a Bible shortage.

Would I be offended? Well, I'd certainly be concerned. If the schools allow one holy book to be handed out, they'd better hand them ALL out. The Koran, the Book of Mormon, all of it. If only the Bible were distributed, then it would be suggesting that the school openly endorsed Christianity, and that's not a proper role for a state-funded school.

Answer 3

If the said Bible give-away program was done as part of a comparative religion course or for study purposes only, then there would be nothing wrong with it, in the same way that there is nothing wrong with public school biology teachers assigning readings about evolution to their students.
As long as the intention is to inform the students and not promote any given view, theory, or belief system as the only right or good one, then there is no harm being done.
Even as I am Christian, I recognize the 1st Amendment right to freedom FROM religion as well as freedom OF religion.
Very relevant article and question, presented in a respectful and unassuming way in this Answers section for once - well done.

Answer 4

I wouldn't be offended, but I do feel it is inappropriate. If bibles were provided for free, without any public funding, then effort should have been made to offer koran, book or mormon and other religious material with related teachings on general religion and just the facts of what the various religions out there believe. Though I do feel 5th grade is a bit young for a religion studies, people can be less ignorant of the world if they just understannd everyone's various beliefs.

Answer 5

I personally wouldn't be offended, though I can understand how, in this day and time, some might be.

Is the judge right? By my reading of the case, the school system wasn't itself giving the bibles to graduating fifth graders, but was not prohibiting the Gideons from doing so.

Here's the text of the first amendment of which the judge found the school board to be in violation:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"

As best as I can see, congress (that is, the US congress) had nothing to do with the decision to not prohibit the distribution, and it *certainly* made no law.

And yet, the action (or inaction) of the school board was ruled unconstitutional, and the board was "scolded" by Judge Catherine Perry.

I can perhaps see an argument that the judge's ruling prohibits the free excercise of religion, but I suppose that's her prerogative - she's neither congress nor is she making a law ... she's just another of President Clinton's bench appointees making one up.

Answer 6

Of course. If I send my children to a public school, I expect them to be free from ANY religious influence while they are there.

Once, when I was in school (a public one) we were given a lesson on I don't remember what saint, and my mum made a fuzz out of that. I think I'd do the same now, in a similar situation.

Answer 7

:D .. Another for the boneheap here ... lol .. I like Googly's .. he makes the teeth of what he is saying smooth though ... Hmm ... maybe they give Upanishads, Bhagavad Gitas, Dhammapaddas, Koran's, Leaky Studies , Marx and Engels,some Sartre existentialism ...lol ... would be a nice literacy grab if in fairness they appeased all possibilities ... But likely some sector's potential interests would be somehow excluded ...

Yes, I would have been offended, and gladly file that suit myself ... Personal choice should extend to, "whether or not" as far as "religion" ... and then "if so" which religion?... government and schools should not be programming these choices .. I would uphold that judge ... In every appellate level ...

PS-I agee in spirit with jd, except ... hmm .. do you actually think some elementary schools have "Origin of Species" on the shelf?...I first studied the Scopes trial in Middle School .. did a bookreport proevolution then .. but if anything we've gone backwards from my 1970's middleschool ...

Answer 8

When I was a little girl I went to a Presbyterian school where they read bible stories to us every morning...to this day I still remember a lot of those parables. From the age of 11-18 I was educated at a Convent school by mainly nuns and priests and there I learned the rosary and took my first communion and said my first confessions...the funny thing is I am not a Christian. I was born into one of the eastern religions...but the religious education I had helped to guide me through the tough years of my life with a foundation of discipline. My experience with Christianity at school did not turn me against my birth religion. In fact I saw common threads of thought in all. It helped me to find a common ground in differing religions.

In short, I would not be offended.

Answer 9

No, but I would also not be offended if the school gave away a copy of the Koran or Book of Mormon. It would be a great way to teach my children why these two books are wrong and show them how people are led astray and that the truth can be found in the Bible.

Answer 10

Offended, maybe
I'm from missouri actually. LOL

If my kid wanted to know about it, I would teach her. That this book can do 1 of 2 things for you. Create a brick wall or act as a stepping stone to real spirituality and read it a little then read everything else, then read it all the way to see what has been tampered with. That way my daughter will be able to discern.