A school district in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah has ordered the removal of all Bibles from its primary schools following a parent’s complaint about the King James Version.
The Davis School District in Salt Lake City took the action after a school committee ruled that the Holy Book was too “vulgar and violent” for younger students. It noted that it wasn’t part of the school curriculum.
The committee did not elaborate on its reasoning or mention which Scriptures it found unacceptable.
Local news reports claim it did not find the Bible to contain “sensitive material” as defined by Utah law, but decided to limit its availability based on the age appropriateness of its content.
The Associated Press reports Bibles will still be available in the district’s high schools.
Following a second parent’s appeal against the decision, the district will form a new committee made up of three members of its Board of Education to review both the original complaint and the appeal.
Critics of the removal claim it’s revenge for new laws which have made it easier to remove school books on the grounds of inappropriate content or indecency, especially relating to gender and sexuality.
Under those laws Bibles have been removed briefly from schools in Texas and Missouri — and Kansas could follow suit.
Davis School District libraries have other religious texts such as the Torah, the Book of Mormon and the Quran available for students to check out without age restrictions.
British broadcaster and commentator Dan Wootton told Sky News Australia: “It’s really sad books are being caught up in the culture war. Banning the Bible is going to the next level. You won’t see the woke folk trying to ban the Quran from schools, will you?”
