by Megan Stoddard

Created on: December 10, 2009

The Bible is a sacred text, but it is not a textbook, and it is not relevant to all school subjects. It does not teach math. It does not teach science. It does not teach spelling or grammar. While it makes some mention of geographic locations and historical events, it does not teach most of the history or geography that students must learn. Other kinds of books are needed for those purposes. What the Bible teaches is religion.

Reading the Bible, like reading any book, does improve reading skills. In parochial schools, it might not be unreasonable to include Bible stories in reading lessons. However, public and non-parochial private schools should stay away from that. Using Bible stories is apt to raise the ire of non-Christian parents who do not want their children subject to that, and of Christian parents who feel that the school is using the Bible in ways that do not mesh with their interpretation of it.

That does not mean absolutely nothing in the Bible is relevant in any way, shape, or form to certain things students might learn in school. Students in the upper grades may learn about comparative religion. That would include Christianity and Judaism, and understanding those religions requires knowing something of the Bible. Students at any grade level may learn about diverse cultures, including their holidays. That can't be learned without some explanation of why and how religious holidays are celebrated. For the major Jewish and Christian holidays, the explanations are found in the Bible.

Knowing at least the basic stories from the Bible is essential to understanding Western literature. Bible stories are frequently referenced in books written before the twentieth century, and sometimes in later books. Anyone who has never heard the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Moses, the Nativity, or the Crucifixion will be at a loss when they find those references in something they are reading.

On a deeper level, the Bible also forms the basis of much of Western culture and history. The Puritans who colonized New England, and many settlers on the American frontier, saw themselves as being given a promised land, just like the Israelites entering Canaan. (And, like the Israelites, their stories about themselves minimized the damage they did to the previous inhabitants of that land.) American slaves saw their own situation reflected in the Exodus story, to the extent that they disguised talk about running away as songs about escaping Egypt.

Older students may learn about philosophy. Religious concepts, including those found in the Bible, are part of philosophical thought. And if ethics and moral values are discussed in the classroom, which they well may be, the Bible certainly does include those. In a public school where separation of church and state must be observed, teachers walk a delicate line if they introduce Biblical concepts. However, if these concepts are presented as an integral part of the subject at hand, and students' right to believe or not believe is respected, discussing them is appropriate.

The Bible is not relevant to all school subjects. It is relevant to Christianity. But that is not a school subject, except in parochial schools or when taught as part of comparative religion. Some information in the Bible is relevant to things that may be taught in school, such as classical literature and philosophy. However, it cannot and should not serve as a textbook on every subject.

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