A Utah school district has reversed its decision to ban the Bible from middle and elementary schools after drawing pushback from many in the community.
The Davis School District moved to ban the Bible in a May 22 decision after officials determined that some of the book’s content may not be appropriate for younger children. The Bible would still be available to high school students, but not to elementary or middle school children.
A review committee found that while the Bible did not violate state law on “sensitive material,” some of its contents were inappropriate for younger readers due to its description of violence and vulgarity.
The Bible requested to be removed was the King James Version, known for its use of 17th century language, which can often be difficult for modern readers to understand.
It’s unclear if other versions of the Bible were affected by the temporary ban.
The initial decision to remove the Bible came after an unidentified member of the community filed a request for its removal last December.
The request cited Utah House Bill 374, a law passed in 2022 by Republican lawmakers allowing parents to challenge “sensitive instructional materials” in public schools.
“Utah Parents United left off one of the most sex-ridden books around: The Bible,” the request read, referring to the group that has spearheaded the challenge against inappropriate curriculum in Utah schools, according to The Associated Press.
Taking aim directly at Parents United, the complaint accused the district of “ceding our children’s education, First Amendment Rights, and library access” to the group, the AP reported.
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The complaint further accused the district of operating in “bad faith” by apparently removing the books brought forth by Parents United, and appeared to take issue with the law allowing the group to do so – despite itself using the law to request the Bible’s removal.
“You’ll no doubt find that the Bible … has no serious values for minors because it’s pornographic by our new definition … If the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a slam dunk,” the request stated, according to AP.
Left-leaning sites instantly jumped on the story after hearing that the Bible had been removed from schools by using a Republican-endorsed law.
Interestingly enough, the move seems to fall in line with the 1971 book, “Rules for Radicals,” written by left-wing political activist Saul Alinsky.
In his book, Alinsky credited Lucifer (Satan) as the “very first radical” and lists 12 rules that any activist who wants to succeed should follow.
These tactics include ridiculing your enemies until they concede, making them think you have more power than you do, keeping the pressure on, and most notably: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
That was clearly the tactic on display with the complaint demanding the Bible be removed.
However, parents ultimately prevailed against the Bible ban, and the district reversed its decision on Tuesday after having received 70 appeals.
“Based on their assessment of community standards, the appeal committee determined that The Bible has significant, serious value for minors which outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains,” the committee said in announcing the reversal, AP reported.
