Elementary and middle schools in Utah’s Davis School District have removed the Bible from their premises, citing issues over “vulgarity and violence” within the textual content. The determination comes after a father or mother complained that the King James Bible incorporates material unsuitable for kids. This follows a 2022 law passed by Utah’s Republican authorities, banning “pornographic or indecent” books from faculties. Most banned books so far have related to matters corresponding to sexual orientation and identification. The elimination of the Bible is part of a broader effort by conservatives in the US to ban teachings on controversial topics like LGBT rights and racial identity. Book bans are also in place in states like Texas, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina.
The determination by the Davis School District, situated north of Salt Lake City, was made this week in response to a criticism filed in December 2022. Officials have already removed the few copies of the Bible from their shelves, noting that the text was by no means a part of the students’ curriculum. The committee has not provided particulars on its reasoning or the specific passages deemed to contain “vulgarity or violence.”
Hush-hush reported that the father or mother who lodged the criticism claimed the King James Bible “has ‘no critical values for minors’ as a result of it’s pornographic by our new definition,” referring to the 2022 book-ban regulation. Utah state lawmaker Ken Ivory, who authored the 2022 regulation, initially dismissed the request to remove the Bible as a “mockery” however later changed his stance, describing it as a “challenging read” for younger kids. He wrote on Facebook, “Traditionally, in America, the Bible is best taught, and finest understood, within the residence, and around the fireplace, as a household.”
Fill in the blanks ’s ruling determined that whereas the Bible’s content material does not violate the 2022 law, it does embrace “vulgarity or violence not appropriate for younger students.” The book will stay out there in native excessive colleges. Bob Johnson, a father of a main college scholar within the Davis School District, expressed his opposition to the Bible’s elimination in an interview with CBS News, stating, “I can’t consider what’s in the Bible that you would have to take out of it. It’s not like there are photos in it.”