Doing It Religiously

I'm not sure what to make of the editorial that The Birmingham News ran today regarding a bill to permit public school teachers to sign on for a particular "Bible as literature" curriculum.

The News' basic point is sound; that teaching the Bible's influence on literature is fine as long as teacher's are careful to not infringe upon the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and the prohibition found in the Establishment Clause.

However, the News' makes some comments that seem strange. Perhaps they are just the result of slopping writing or trying to meet an pending printing deadline.

First, the News' says that "more caution is needed when a public school teacher or administrator is involved in religious activities with students." Actually, if the Bible lit class is crafted properly and taught correctly, this curriculum would not be a "religious activity." Public schools do not exist to conduct religious activities and in fact are prohibited from doing so. The case Wallace v. Jaffree, which originated in Alabama, makes this point clear.

The News' also makes the point that public schools in Alabama already have the legal ability to teach "Bible literature" classes. (In fact, I remember my high school having such a class.) However, the News' editorial board goes on to say that "school boards that adopt the course in their bill would get help training teachers about how to teach the subject the right way," apparently suggesting that the bill provides for training that schools cannot get unless it adopts this curriculum.

It would seem odd to think that schools could only get specialized training on this area of First Amendment concern if they adopt some curriculum that has received the blessing of the Alabama Legislature. And, as a point of fact, the Attorney General provides guidelines for conducting religious activities in public schools.

We know that politicians (Guin? Hammett?) will use symbolic issues like this one to curry favor with particular groups of voters. So, it's not a surprise the pols would put forth some proposal for which there is no burning need.

It's not so clear why The Birmingham News printed what seems to be slip-shod editorial writing.