Banning the Bible (Again)

Each year the American Library Association (ALA) publishes a list of books that have been challenged or banned in school or public libraries around the country.

The ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom monitors the actions and prepares A “State of the Libraries” report. Over the years, challenged books have included The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Harry Potter Series, A Catcher in the Rye, and other books that have explicit sexual or violent content, like the more recent 50 Shades of Grey.

One book that is perennially on the list is the Bible. The question that comes up as to whether a school or public library purchasing a copy of the Bible is, in fact, a separation of church and state violation.

In a number of school districts, the use of the Bible has been acceptable in at least two circumstances. One- it is an appropriate text in a course in Comparative World Religions. Two- it is also an acceptable text to use in a course entitled "The Bible as Literature.” In either case, there is no proselytizing of religion in the classroom.

The academic community and the public at large must be diligent with regard to the dangers of censorship. Students need to be exposed to stories about diversity and the multi-cultural society that we live in.

This year Banned Books Week will be observed from September 26- October 1^st.

You can obtain more information about banned books from the ALA web site (ALA.org) You can also contact the Office of Intellectual Freedom directly by calling 

1-800-545-2433 ext. 2433 or email oif@ala.org.

C.2016 J. Margolis