House Bill 128, which was signed last week, allows public schools to teach courses on the Bible. “The idea that we would not want this to be an option for people in school, that would be crazy. I don't know why every state would not embrace this, why we as a nation would not embrace this,” Bevin told the crowd. Bevin said the law should not even be controversial. “You could be an atheist, and you would appreciate there's a lot of wisdom in the Bible,” he said. This course would be elective, not required.
The bill's sponsor says students need to understand the role the Bible played in American history. “It really did set the foundation that our founding fathers used to develop documents like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights," said Rep. D.J. Johnson (R-Owensboro). "All of those came from principles from the Bible."
The new HB 128 reads: Create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations to establish an elective social studies course on the Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament of the Bible, the New Testament, or a combination of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament of the Bible; require that the course provide to students knowledge of biblical content, characters, poetry, and narratives that are prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture, including literature, art, music, mores, oratory, and public policy.
The state/church watchdogs are concerned because those classes may easily cross the constitutional line and go from teaching to preaching. "How will the Kentucky Board of Education ensure the course does not become devotional?" FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor has said. "The bill already shows bias by singling out only one so-called 'holy book' for study."
The ACLU of Kentucky said it’s worried about how the law might be used in schools. “A Bible literacy bill that, on its face, may not appear to be unconstitutional, could in fact become unconstitutional in its implementation,” said Advocacy Director Kate Miller. Miller told WDRB News the ACLU will monitor the law closely. “We want to make sure that teachers can teach and make sure that they don't go in to preach,” Miller said.
Monitoring and reporting teachers who cross the subtle line between teaching about Bible as if it’s a literal work and as if it’s literally true, history book, and something we can’t criticize, is probably the only way watchdog groups can put a stop to illegal preaching in the classroom.
Photo Credits: Big Valley Christian School
