Christian coalition promotes Bible study in American public schools

“Among the powerful fans of these public-school Bible classes: President Trump,” writes the Washington Post.

By World Israel News Staff 

Project Blitz, a coalition of Christian rights groups, has drafted a law that encourages teaching the Bible in public schools, reports The Washington Post. The umbrella group has persuaded at least 10 state legislatures to introduce versions of it this year, says the newspaper.

Kentucky has already passed such legislation, the article notes.

“Among the powerful fans of these public-school Bible classes: President Trump,” writes the Post.

“Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible,” the president tweeted in January. “Starting to make a turn back? Great!”

Such efforts face the challenge of those who defend the principle of separation of church and state.

In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled in School District of Abington Township v. Schempp that school-led Bible reading is an unconstitutional religious practice, the Post notes.

However, the report adds, teaching the Bible was allowed, saying that “nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.”

Proponents of Bible classes argue that they constitute “a key component of a well-rounded education, key to understanding Western literature and American history,” says the newspaper.

“Such classes have long been offered by some public schools across the nation, sometimes taught by public-school employees with textbooks paid for by school budgets…Even those opposed to Bible classes in public schools often agree that religious literacy can be valuable if it is incorporated into world-religions or history classes,” says the Post.

The newspaper adds that leaders of Project Blitz did not respond to inquiries.