ACLU criticizes Bible textbook considered for class

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia has asked a Chesterfield County textbook-review committee to drop one of the books being considered for a proposed Bible class.

A fax sent Wednesday by the ACLU to textbook-review committee members Ed Witthoefft and Gayle Hines urged them not to use the book "The Bible in History and Literature," prepared by the North Carolina-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.

"I urge you not to approve that particular text, which has serious constitutional flaws," wrote Rebecca K. Glenberg, ACLU's legal director.

In an interview, Glenberg said the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools' program is "an example of one that takes particular religious viewpoints. For example, it tends to treat the Bible as literal historical truth. Students might be asked a true-or-false question such as, 'Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday.' The Bible should not be taught as literal truth."

Glenberg also said in the fax that the National Council curriculum presents the Bible from the perspective of Christianity in general, contains chronologies of biblical events, and examines maps plotting locations such as the Garden of Eden and the Tower of Babel.

Because of these and other "flaws," Glenberg said in the fax, the ACLU sued the School Board in Odessa, Texas, to prevent it from using National Council curriculum to teach a Bible class. The suit was settled, and the board agreed to discontinue the curriculum, she said.

Of the ACLU's concerns, Chesterfield schools spokesman Shawn Smith said: "The school division textbook-review process is a clearly defined process and will include the review of the comments from the ACLU."

The Bible course had been proposed in high schools for next fall, but lack of student interest and staff cuts have halted the plans, Smith said. The course will be revisited for the 2011-12 school year, he said.

Chesterfield is the only school district in the Richmond area considering a Bible class.

It also is the only school system in the region that offers a comparative religion class. In 2008, three high schools — Cosby, Clover Hill and Matoaca — began offering the comparative religion course.

Currently, only Cosby has the course. The other schools didn't have enough enrollment to offer the class, said Joseph Tylus, director of high schools.

Although the Bible course will not be offered this fall, the textbook-review process for the class is moving ahead. A committee will be making a recommendation on textbooks to Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome, who in turn will make a recommendation to the School Board before June, Smith said.

In addition to "The Bible in History and Literature," the committee is reviewing "The Bible and Its Influence," prepared by the Bible Literacy Project.

"That one is far superior," ACLU Executive Director Kent Willis said of "The Bible and Its Influence."

The ACLU has received calls about the constitutionality of the proposed Bible course in Chesterfield, Glenberg said. She said in her fax that the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit high schools from offering courses about religion.

"However, such courses must be carefully designed and taught to ensure that they present a scholarly, objective view of religion and must not promote any particular religious viewpoint," she said.

Juan Antonio Lizama is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.