A Utah school district has banned the Bible from elementary and middle schools over its "vulgarity and violence."
The ban, effective immediately, is a nod to a complaint against the King James Bible by a parent who got frustrated by the book bans in the state, hoping to expose issues in the process.
Utah Schools Ban the Bible
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 28: A member of the congregation carries a Bible during the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church's annual Thanksgiving service on July 28, 2013 in the Elephant And Castle area of south London, England.
According to BBC, The Davis School District, which serves about 74,000 students, pulled off the Bible from its shelves after a parent filed a complaint with the district last December. The complainant argued that the Bible contained "pornographic" and "violent," making it unsuitable for the consumption of young minds.
The district took the complaint with utmost seriousness and reviewed the contents of the Holy Bible.
As per NPR, the complaint cites the Utah law passed last 2022, which bans books that include "pornographic or indecent" material.
The state-wide law has since removed titles like "Gender Queer" authored by Maia Kobabe and "The Bluest Eye," which Toni Morrison wrote. It comes as conservatives or right-wingers slammed books that dived into topics like racial identity and LGBTQ+ rights.
Other states have also placed similar bans on polarizing topics, including South Carolina, Texas, Missouri, and Florida.
The complaint, citing Utah's law filed last December, says the Bible is "one of the most sex-ridden books around." The protest cited certain passages in the religious text, which are allegedly unsuitable for children.
The parent further pointed out that the holy scripture dives into topics of "prostitution," "rape," "incest," and "genital mutilation," among others, NBC reports. And as such, the complainant concludes that the King James Bible has "no serious values for minors" and dismisses it as mere pornographic material.
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Utah Republican Lawmaker Reverses Position on Bible Ban
The Republican state lawmaker for Utah, Ken Ivory, initially blasted the complaint against the King James Bible as sheer "mockery." But this time, he changed position, admitting that the religious book is a "challenging read" for young folks.
He agreed with the school ban, saying it is "best taught, and best understood, in the home, and around the hearth, as a family."
The Utah ban now limits the King James Bible to high school students. So it is still available on the shelves of the libraries for higher ages.
However, NBC News points out that while the ban takes effect right away, students have yet to experience it as they are still on summer vacation. When they get back on August 17, they might find it hard to get their hands on the King James Bible in primary school libraries due to the Utah district school ban.
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