The Bible has been banned for elementary and middle school pupils in Utah after it was considered to be ‘too filthy’ and ‘too violent’ for younger readers.
According to the Daily Mail, the decision was made after a parent in the area became dissatisfied with previous efforts to prohibit books in schools.
The religious text was withdrawn from elementary and middle schools in the Davis district, a 72,000-student area north of Salt Lake City, but will remain in high schools.
Following a parent complaint, a district committee studied The Good Book, and district officials say the committee is made up of parents, teachers, and administrators.
There was also a request that the Book of Mormon be removed from the libraries of younger students.
Chris Williams, a district representative, said that a review request for the Book of Mormon was submitted, but did not elaborate on the grounds. He refused to say whether it was from the same individual who complained about the Bible, citing a school board privacy regulation.
According to Williams, the district does not distinguish between requests to evaluate books and does not assess whether complaints may be presented as parody. The reviews are overseen by a committee comprised of teachers, parents, and administrators from the predominantly conservative neighborhood.
Other titles, such as Sherman Alexie’s ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’ and John Green’s ‘Looking for Alaska,’ have been withdrawn by the district in response to a 2022 state legislation mandating districts to involve parents in choices about what constitutes’sensitive material.’
The committee’s verdict on the Bible was published in an online database of review requests, but it did not elaborate on its reasons or specific sections it judged excessively violent or obscene.
The decision comes as conservative parent activists, notably state-based chapters of the organization Parents United, converge on school boards and statehouses around the country, raising concerns about how sex and violence are discussed in classrooms.
Because of the district’s privacy policy, it’s unclear who requested that the Bible be prohibited in Davis schools or if they are part of a wider organization.
According to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune via a public records request, the parent stated that the Bible contains incidents of incest, prostitution, and rape. The complaint referred to a “bad faith process” and said that the district was “ceding our children’s education, First Amendment rights, and library access” to Parents United.
‘Utah Parents United omitted one of the most sex-ridden literature available: The Bible,’ according to the parent’s complaint, dated Dec. 11. ‘You’ll no doubt find that the Bible (under state law) has ‘no substantial values for kids’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition,’ it continued.
According to Williams, the review committee found that the Bible did not meet Utah’s definition of what is pornographic or immoral, thus it remains in high schools. According to the new 2022 state law, the committee can make its own decisions and has implemented varied requirements based on children’ ages in response to multiple issues, he added.
