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No other book has influenced American culture, its values and institutions, more than the Bible. If students are to understand fully the culture in which they live, somehow they must be introduced to the Bible.
Can this be done constitutionally in public schools? It not only can be; it should be.
Obviously the Bible cannot be taught to propagate religion—or secularism. As Thayer Warshaw has stated:
“It should be taught in a manner consistent with the law of the land, America’s commitment to pluralism, professional integrity, and the realities of the classroom situation.”1
The law on the subject is clear—at least in principle. In the case of Abington v. Schempp, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a daily reading of ten verses of the Bible over the school’s loudspeaker system was essentially devotional and therefore unconstitutional. At the same time, the Court stated:
“It may well be said that one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or of the history of religion and its relation to the advancement of civilization. It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities. 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.”2
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In another case, the Court noted:
“Certainly a course in English literature that omitted the Bible and other powerful uses of our mother tongue for religious ends would be pretty barren…The fact is that, for good or for ill, nearly everything in our culture worth transmitting, everything which gives meaning to life, is saturated with religious influences.”3
Naturally there will be arguments about whether, in particular circumstances and instances, a school is teaching the Bible in an impermissible way—that is, to propagate a particular religion or even religion in general. But the principle is clear: Teaching the Bible as literature or history or in terms of comparative religions is permissible in public schools and does not violate the First Amendment.
Indeed, a 1988 study found that ten states specifically permit public schools to teach about the Bible as literature.4
Mainline establishment organizations like the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) describe the need for Bible in literature classes.5 A coalition of 17 national educational and religious organizations has published a question-and-answer brochure on religion in the public school curriculum, describing what is and what is not permitted. Over one million copies of this brochure have been distributed.6
In practice, how can the Bible be taught without encroaching on the impermissible propagation of religion? As a matter of fact, there are many ways.
One way is to approach the Bible as culturally significant literature. This in turn can be broken down into at least four subdivisions: the Bible for literature; the Bible as literature; the Bible in literature; and the Bible and literature.7
The Bible for literature presents Bible stories and some often-quoted passages just to familiarize children with what the book actually says, so that they may recognize allusions in our culture. This approach may be used at the elementary school level, as well as the secondary school level. It lends itself to pupil projects and contributions from the fine arts, music and other aspects of our culture (for example, cartoons and advertisements based on Noah’s Ark or the Adam and Eve story).
In utilizing the Bible as literature, a teacher might examine verses in Proverbs or Psalms as an example of literary parallelism.8
The approach summarized by the phrase Bible and literature makes use of biblical texts in studying literary genres or themes. For example, a teacher offering students a unit on poetry might include an excerpt from Job or the Song of Solomon. Another teacher might organize a unit on life-crises that speak to young people and include, for example, the Gospel of Luke’s story of the Prodigal Son. Another educator might offer a unit on women in strong roles, including stories about Deborah, Esther, Judith and Susanna.
The Bible in literature is based on the fact that secular literature is filled with biblical references. Milton’s Paradise Lost or 037T.S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi” are two examples that come to mind. Some secular literature recreates a Bible story, for example, Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea or Archibald MacLeish’s J.B. Biblical allusions have been used as dramatic devices in novels, such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. (Young Scout hears her father discussing the fact that the judge has assigned him this difficult case, and a friend, knowing the father would prefer not to handle the case, comments, “Let this cup pass from you, eh?”) The Bible is a source of several allusions in Hamlet: Cain’s murder (King Claudius, at prayer, regrets his foul deed, “It hath the primal eldest curse upon it, a brother’s murder,” III, iii, 32); Jephthah’s daughter (Hamlet rails at Polonius, whose daughter Hamlet loved but scorned, “O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what treasure hadst thou!…Am I not in the right, old Jephthah!” II, ii, 422–429). An increasing number of literary texts are now making references to biblical accounts.
The Bible is also pertinent to courses in history. The Bible and religion, generally speaking, are part of American history. Several states require that history courses or social studies courses cover religion. Georgia teachers, for example, must be prepared to teach about freedom of religion.
Are there touchy areas? Of course. What happens, for example, when students ask about and expect teachers to respond to questions about miracles in the Bible? The teacher may state that historically people have offered at least four kinds of explanations for biblical stories like the Great Flood, the Exodus, the virgin birth or Jesus’ miracles. First, the story is literally true (the flood did occur just as it is discussed in Genesis). Second, the explanation lies in a natural phenomenon, the recalling of which has been embellished or attributed to the divine (a major flood did occur; possibly only a single family escaped). The third explanation appeals to folklore and myth (many ancient cultures have flood stories); the flood story embodies a people’s experience and values, including their view of physical nature and human nature, and their understanding of the relationship with God as seen through this pivotal event. A fourth explanation is that the significance of miracle stories lies in their imperatives for humans; we must seek their meaning in our own lives.
The teacher must make clear that the public school cannot sponsor any one explanation as the right one. The teacher may say that “some people believe” and invite students to note other explanations and alternative views of which they are aware, but the teacher must be careful not to put any pressure on students to discuss their own faith. Some may feel embarrassed to share what they regard as private; others believe they are not sufficiently informed about their faith heritage. Still others, wanting to please the teacher or fearing peer criticism, might mask their personal beliefs.
Can the Bible be taught, as a practical matter, without teaching religion? Experience tells us that the answer is yes. The method must be quite different, however, from a Sunday school approach to Bible stories. Those teachers who are most likely to be accused of teaching religion are those who are not well prepared, nor sensitive to the religious diversity of students in their classrooms.9 The key is to recognize that others have alternative ways of approaching life. Those differences must be respected. The wise educator knows that he or she cannot and should not impose his or her faith on students.
The question also arises whether sacred texts other than the Bible should be taught in literature classes in the public schools. This is often difficult for two reasons: There is at present a dearth of support materials for teachers in this area and most teachers are relatively unfamiliar with traditions other than Judaism and Christianity. The counter argument is that as more materials become available about other religious literature, they should be included.10 The nation’s increasing religious diversity is impacting school policies and practices. In one urban district it is reported that a prayer room for Muslim students has been set aside. In another school, a Native American religion unit has been established. Some administrators and teachers report growing interest about world religions in world history classes, even where there are few students from other faiths.
I cannot deny that some problems will occur. With 15,000 school districts in the country and hundreds of thousands of classrooms, it is unrealistic to expect that every teacher will be successful or even that the best teacher, however well prepared, will respond in the best possible way to some tough situations presented by a parent, a student or another educator. Mistakes will be made. But with greater experience—and, no doubt, with more specific guidance from the courts—errors will be fewer and fewer. On balance, however, it is clear that we need not and should not deprive our public school students of a knowledge of the Bible and its influence in our culture.
Based on my experience of over 30 years teaching about the Bible in both literature and social studies classes, I can attest that such teaching need not be controversial and can be done with integrity and creativity, within the confines of the First Amendment to our Constitution.
