Bible makes comeback in public schools

Vol. VIII, No. 9, October 1995

When Elizabeth Ridenour discovered, to her surprise, that public school Bible instruction was endorsed by the same Supreme court that made mandatory Bible reading unconstitutional, she decided to spread the word. Since 1993, her National Council on Bible Curriculum in the Public Schools has been informing parents and educators about what current law permits and promoting a Bible curriculum for use in public schools. So far, school districts in seven states have adopted the curriculum. Ridenour discussed this effort in a September 14 Truths that Transform interview, excerpted below.

How did you get started? In doing some research and finding out that it was our constitutional right to have this done, I felt that we needed to get the word out to people nationally that it was their right. So many people have been duped into thinking that they cannot do this. We started to do this originally in North Carolina, but word of mouth spread throughout the country pretty rapidly.

How are these Bible courses being received? It’s just been going wonderfully. We’ve already gotten this into several school districts in different states around the country. In North Carolina alone it’s being taught in 120 high schools.

How is this introduced into school districts? We send out a free package of information on the legality of this, how to implement it step-by-step in their district. ... It also includes a petition we are circulating nationally to show that people in their area would like to see the Bible back in their schools again. The school board them votes on it. The interesting thing is that 95 percent of the school boards this has been proposed to have voted unanimously to put it in. [Those that didn’t vote unanimously have (also) voted to put it in.]

What reasons do they give for wanting this? I believe a lot of it has to do with the shape schools are in today. Students do not understand the basis of a lot of our founding documents because this part of the information is left out. For example, what meaning could Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” or Michelangelo’s “Moses” have to students if they don’t know about the figures who inspired those works of art? Religion has been a major social force in all of human history... The students need to understand this.

What resistance have you encountered? Well, we have hardly had any resistance at all from school boards that have been approached. ... Americans United for Separation of Church and State are not real happy about this, of course. We’ve had some people say, “Well, if this goes in what about other world views? Will they be able to go in?” Of course they have the right to do this, also, but actually all the other worldviews are already being taught in the schools. Some of them are mandatory – the secular humanist worldview, Marxist-Leninism, New Age worldview. That material is already there, and we’re just trying to expose the kids to the biblical Christian worldview, which is actually the only worldview not being taught in high schools now.