Democrats want literacy class on Bible
Virginia group's book touted as new elective's basis
The Hunstville Times

MONTGOMERY - Democratic lawmakers are pressing for a uniform Bible literacy class in Alabama's public schools.

At a news conference today, the legislators plan to announce they will push in the Legislature early next year a bill that would allow local school boards to offer "Bible literacy" classes as elective high school courses.

House Majority Leader Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, and Speaker of the House Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia, were expected to make the announcement.

Alabama schools may teach a similar course now.

Opponents say the Democrats' bill sanctions one religion; Republicans say Democrats are stealing their ideas.

The course will center on "The Bible and Its Influence," a book published by the Bible Literacy Project, a Virginia group that promotes knowledge of the Bible.

"It's very needed and there's a loss of Bible literacy," said Sheila Weber, spokeswoman for the Bible Literacy Project. "From our perspective, this is an educational gap in public education."

Weber said students need to be familiar with the Bible to understand American and British literature, and arts and music.

But the books will also be useful in a religious context, she said. "We have written the textbook so it preserves the ability of the churches and parents to teach their view of the Bible."

The book, published in September, is not used by any school system now.

Weber said the book was written so schools would not worry about the course being unconstitutional. And the Bible Literacy Project offers online training for teachers of the course.

"It is a straight-forward teaching of the Bible at a high school level," she said.

Schools may teach the Bible in a historical context, courts have ruled, but may not teach it as a faith.

Randy Brinson of Montgomery helped coordinate bringing the book to Alabama.

In schools today, Brinson said, "There's no way to study the Bible for its literary content and how it influenced our art, our literature, our history."

But the state already allows schools to teach a similar class, said Michael Sibley, spokesman for the state Department of Education.

Sally Howell, assistant executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards in Montgomery, said school boards already have the authority to offer Bible literacy classes.

But such classes may present new problems, some say.

"Anytime you specify the study of a specific religion, it just opens up the likelihood of abuse that it will turn into a devotional text rather than an academic text," said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in Washington.

"I just don't like the idea of taking one religion and singling it out for special treatment, even as an elective course, and, in addition, this book has problems, not as many as some, but it has problems nevertheless," he said.

Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, the minority leader in the House, said the bill, along with a bill proposed by Rep. Steve Hurst, D-Munford, to put "In God We Trust" on Alabama license plates, is just politics.

"I don't think there's any doubt that the Democrats are going to try to be moving to the right as far as they can and shake the liberal label they have," said Hubbard, a board member of Redeem the Vote. "As we head into the election year, I think you'll see the Democrats doing anything they can to move toward the right."

Guin declined to speak about the bill before today's news conference.

The Alabama Education Association does not oppose the bill.

"As an elective subject, I don't see a problem with it," said Paul Hubbert, head of the AEA. "It does allow Bible back into public schools in a way that has been approved by the courts."

The four major candidates for governor, Republicans Gov. Bob Riley and Roy Moore, and Democrats Lucy Baxley and Don Siegelman, all said they support the intent of the bill, either by offering more "spiritual growth" or teaching more about the Bible, though none had seen the bill.