Georgia Attorney General says Bible classes must be objective and fair

Church & State, Jan 2000

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker has issued a written opinion telling public schools they may offer courses on the Bible only if they are secular in nature and approach the subject in an objective manner.

Baker was asked for advice on the question by members of the state Board of Education. The issue came up after two state legislators, Rep. Tommy Smith and Sen. Tommie Williams, announced plans to introduce legislation to give public high schools money to offer courses on the Old and New Testaments.

"it is my official opinion that courses that include reference to the Bible may survive First Amendment scrutiny only if their content is determined to be secular and they are taught in a secular, objective manner," Baker wrote in his seven-page opinion.

Board members said they found the opinion useful, and on Nov. 9 the board decided not to fund five Bible courses. "As I read the conclusion, frankly, I think he's saying, as a state school board, we need to stay out of this," Board Chairman Otis Brumby told the Savannah Morning News. Member Bruce Jackson agreed, saying, "If we got a clear-cut legal opinion saying we could offer it, I would have no problem offering it any more than driver's education. [But] I don't want to buy a lawsuit."

In the opinion, Baker stressed that the legality of the classes would be determined by what is actually taught in the classroom. Smith and Williams insisted that they intend for the courses to be secular in nature and said training for the coursework would include information about how to avoid church-state problems. Nevertheless, Williams seems to have a bias toward a fundamentalist-style interpretation of the Bible. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in November that the Bible is accurate in matters of history, anthropology and archaeology. He also implied that the courses would be Christian in nature, telling the Savannah newspaper, "If Muslims want to teach the Koran, then they need to go before the school board... just as we're doing."

In other news:

A new guide on the Bible in public schools has been released by a coalition of religious and public policy groups. The document, developed by the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center and the National Bible Association, recommends that public schools offer courses in the Bible as literature instead of Bible as history classes. It advises instructors not to teach miracles and divine actions described in the Bible as fact and says the primary purpose of the courses should be educational, not devotional. (The text may be read online at www.freedomforum.org).

Groups endorsing the document include People For the American Way, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Jewish Congress, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Council of Islamic Education.

Americans United was asked to sign on to the statement but declined. While AU believes the publication contains much good advice, the organization's attorneys were concerned that it promoted public schools Bible classes too much, implying that all schools ought to teach such courses. AU's view is that public schools may offer these courses as an elective if they are properly structured, but that they are under no obligation to do so and do students no disservice by not offering them. Americans United also maintains that since the Bible is not a history book, it cannot be taught as such.

A northwest Ohio public school district has dropped a sectarian religion class in the wake of mounting complaints. Officials at the Arcadia public school system said they would end the in-school classes, which featured Bible stories and Christian songs.

"If we maintain the program, we'll be facing a legal challenge we can't win," Superintendent David Lewis told local reporters. "And I've been told by more than one person that's what we're facing if we don't drop the class."

Lewis added, "If children are being taught one thing in their home, and they come to school and can't attend a class because it's teaching something different and they are forced to wait in the hall, that's wrong. That's not what public education is all about."