A school district review board committee in Broward, Florida unanimously voted on Dec. 6 to keep the Bible in district libraries, addressing a challenge from an atheist activist claiming it contains content “too sensitive or controversial” for students. The activist said the decision was “completely expected” and plans to appeal.
State law allows parents to challenge books in Florida school districts. Chaz Stevens filed the challenge due to perceived inappropriate sexual and violent content in Scripture—“It is obvious the Bible’s content is too sensitive or controversial for a typical classroom setting,” he said in the complaint. He was not present at the Dec. 6 meeting.
Stevens told Fox News that he will continue fighting due to the Bible’s “casual reference to rape, bestiality, cannibalism and slavery, to name a few. … What’s the cultural or literary value of teaching about drunken orgies to those in third grade?” He said that he challenged the Bible also “to highlight the hypocrisy of conservative activists, like Moms for Liberty.”
The irony is that Moms for Liberty opposes books such as “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “Flamer,” which contain extremely graphic and sexually explicit descriptions or pornographic drawings. A committee member and leader of the local chapter of Moms for Liberty, Corie Pinero, said in the meeting that the Bible “does not violate state law. It’s not graphic at all. It’s actually very tame compared to a lot of the books that are in Broward County schools right now.”
The vote followed a meeting with many passionate conservatives in attendance, some of whom protested outside the building beforehand holding signs saying things like, “America was Founded on the Bible” and “Don’t Tread on Our Religious Liberty.”
“[The Bible] is important for world studies,” said committee member and retired district librarian Elaine Aaron. “I believe the Bible should be on the shelf.”
Back in June, a Utah school district voted unanimously to reverse its previous decision to ban the Bible from middle and elementary school bookshelves. The original complaint called the Bible “pornographic” and “one of the most sex-ridden books around.” The reversal came after 70 community members pushed back against the decision. The appeal committee decided the Bible has “significant, serious value for minors which outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains.”
Moms for Liberty members in Broward have called for the removal of several other books for explicit content, which will be considered at upcoming committee meetings.
Decision Magazine, founded by Billy Graham in 1960, works through its website and monthly magazine to communicate the Gospel, as well as inform and challenge readers about key cultural and Biblical issues.
