Several school districts in the US state of Utah have removed -ban the Bible from elementary and middle schools because it contains “vulgarity and violence”.
A parent complained that the King James Bible contains inappropriate material.
Utah’s Republican government banned “pornographic or indecent” books from schools in 2022.
So far, books related to sexual orientation and identity have been banned.
As part of a larger effort to ban teachings on controversial topics such as LGBT rights and racial identity, conservatives have banned the Bible in states across the country. In addition to Texas, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina, some liberal states have banned some books, citing perceived racial offensive content, in some schools and libraries.
Davis School District north of Salt Lake City made the Utah decision this week after filing a complaint in December 2022. According to officials, they’ve already removed seven or eight copies of the Bible from their shelves, since the text wasn’t part of the curriculum for students.
It did not elaborate on its reasoning or what passages contained “vulgarity or violence”.
Using the new definition of pornography set by the 2022 book-ban law, the parent who complained said the King James Bible had no serious values for minors.
In the past, the Utah state lawmaker who wrote the 2022 law dismissed the Bible removal- ban request as a “mockery,” but changed his tune this week after calling it a “challenging read” for younger children.
As a family, the Bible is traditionally taught and understood in the home, around the hearth,” Ken Ivory wrote on Facebook.
According to the ruling, the Bible’s content does not violate the 2022 law, but it does include “vulgarity or violence unsuitable for younger students”.
The father of a primary school student in the Davis School District opposes removing the Bible.
There aren’t any pictures in the Bible that you would have to take out, he said.
It is not the first district in the US to remove the Bible.
Last year, a Texas school district pulled the Bible from its library shelves after complaints from the public.
A Kansas school library was requested to remove the Bible last month by students.
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