# Bible classes in US public schools. Unconstitutional? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 22, 2017, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743 "2017-03-22T11:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/21 "2017-03-22T16:02:29Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > 1. There have been reports of other students, some of the few to know they could opt out and who did opt out, facing lots of bullying/social ostracism due to it. Which makes one wonder about the value of discussing the teachings of Jesus in school if this is the outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/22 "2017-03-22T16:28:10Z")
For anybody who knows history, the degree to which we have fallen away from the Founding Fathers’ view of religion is truly astounding. The First Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with teaching or endorsing a “religion” in the modern sense–Christianity, Islam, etc. What the Founders had in mind was endorsing a particular Christian **denomination**. They didn’t want to end up like most of Europe, where Anglicanism was the official denomination of England, Lutheranism was the official denomination of Germany, etc. Having a Bible study class in public school is every bit as constitutional as having church services in the US Capitol building. > [@](#): > > By 1800, the 6th Congress began meeting in the Capitol building. That December Congress authorized that the Capitol be used for church services. > > Afterwards, John Quincy Adams, America’s sixth president, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and decades long member of the American Bible Society, noted that Congress authorized the largest room in the U.S. Capitol building to be used for church services. Oversight of Sunday services alternated between the Chaplains of the House and Senate; members of Congress and U.S. presidents attended. [http://constitution.com/u-s-capitol-once-the-largest-church-in-washington-d-c/](http://constitution.com/u-s-capitol-once-the-largest-church-in-washington-d-c/) John Adams, as President, issued an official proclamation declaring a national day of prayer. [![](https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/images/vc006493.jpg) ](https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/images/vc006493.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/23 "2017-03-22T16:43:09Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > And to emphasize this part of the point DSYoungEsq is making, student led religious activities are generally constitutional. Schools cannot refuse to recognize a student created and led Bible study club because of its religious nature. > > So school districts have to walk a bit of a fine line. Public schools cannot promote one religion over another (or over non-religion) as a part of the curriculum but cannot prevent free exercise on equal grounds with other student led extra curricular activities. I am curious – If a school allows a student-created and led Bible class, must it also allow a student-created and led Koran class? How about a student-created and led Wiccan class? Suppose a school already allows the Baptist Bible class. If a Satanism class is proposed, can the school disallow the Baptist class solely to enable disallowing the Satanism class? My own suspicion is that once the first is allowed, the school cannot disallow other religious classes, but I don’t know. And I don’t know if the school can avoid the whole issue by not allowing any religious classes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/24 "2017-03-22T16:44:53Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > For anybody who knows history, the degree to which we have fallen away from the Founding Fathers’ view of religion is truly astounding. > > The First Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with teaching or endorsing a “religion” in the modern sense–Christianity, Islam, etc. What the Founders had in mind was endorsing a particular Christian **denomination**. They didn’t want to end up like most of Europe, where Anglicanism was the official denomination of England, Lutheranism was the official denomination of Germany, etc. > > Having a Bible study class in public school is every bit as constitutional as having church services in the US Capitol building. > > [http://constitution.com/u-s-capitol-once-the-largest-church-in-washington-d-c/](http://constitution.com/u-s-capitol-once-the-largest-church-in-washington-d-c/) > > John Adams, as President, issued an official proclamation declaring a national day of prayer. > [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/images/vc006493.jpg](http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/images/vc006493.jpg) Well, if we want to go back to the Founding, the Establishment clause was not incorporated and several of the states actually had Established Churches. That pretty much ended by the 1820s, though, even though the 1st amendment wasn’t officially incorporated until much later. For example, I like to reference the Massachusetts State Constitution: > [@](#): > > Article III. As the happiness of a people and the good order and preservation of civil government essentially depend upon piety, religion, and morality, and as these cannot be generally diffused through a community but by the institution of the public worship of God and of the public instructions in piety, religion, and morality: Therefore, To promote their happiness and to secure the good order and preservation of their government, the people of this commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature with power to authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from time to time, authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies-politic or religious societies to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and morality in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily. > And the people of this commonwealth have also a right to, and do, invest their legislature with authority to enjoin upon all the subject an attendance upon the instructions of the public teachers aforesaid, at stated times and seasons, if there be any on whose instructions they can conscientiously and conveniently attend. > > Provided, notwithstanding, That the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies-politic, or religious societies, shall at all times have the exclusive right and electing their public teachers and of contracting with them for their support and maintenance. > > And all moneys paid by the subject to the support of public worship and of public teachers aforesaid shall, if he require it, be uniformly applied to the support of the public teacher or teachers of his own religious sect or denomination, provided there be any on whose instructions he attends; otherwise it may be paid toward the support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which the said moneys are raised. > > And every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peaceably and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law. We’ve come a long way, baby! ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/25 "2017-03-22T17:04:25Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > For anybody who knows history, the degree to which we have fallen away from the Founding Fathers’ view of religion is truly astounding. > > The First Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with teaching or endorsing a “religion” in the modern sense–Christianity, Islam, etc. What the Founders had in mind was endorsing a particular Christian **denomination**. They didn’t want to end up like most of Europe, where Anglicanism was the official denomination of England, Lutheranism was the official denomination of Germany, etc. > > Having a Bible study class in public school is every bit as constitutional as having church services in the US Capitol building And we all know that the Founding Fathers always agreed on every issue! They didn’t have to look to Europe to see the problems. Anglicanism was the Established Church in most of the Southern Colonies; taxes went to support The Church, even if you were non-Conformist. And those Scots-Irish folk in the western part of the state\* did\* complain. New England had progressed from the days when Quakers were hanged & Catholics risked witchcraft charges. (She couldn’t recite the Lord’s Prayer in English–only in Irish or Latin!) The Congregationalist churches were disestablished early in the 19th century. Pennsylvania, due to Quaker influence, actually allowed considerable religious freedom. As did New York, because people were usually busy making money. From [Washington’s letter](http://www.tourosynagogue.org/history-learning/gw-letter) to the Trouro Synagogue: > [@](#): > > It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. > > It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity. > > May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. There are circumstances wherein Bible study could be part of the curriculum. With certain courses, offered as electives in the later years–see my previous post. The situation in West Virginia is a travesty & needs to end. (European History Note: Germany was not united in those days. And it was not–and still is not–totally Protestant.) ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/26 "2017-03-22T18:50:12Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > Standard IANAL disclaimer. > > I don’t see how this _ **isn’t** _ unconstitutional. Trying to get around it by saying, “we don’t take public money, so it’s OK,” just doesn’t cut it. It still has the appearance of state sponsorship. > > The only way I can see the Bible in a public school is as part of a World Religions class (and even there, it had better share equal time with the Q’uran, Jewish texts, Hindu sacred texts, etc.). > > Some schools will rent space out to churches and other religious groups (a church I once attended actually started meeting at the local elementary school), but school staff do not take part in the activities, and it’s usually pretty clear that the school is not in any way sponsoring or endorsing the particular religion. I’m pretty sure they have Christian clubs in highschool, that club can have a faculty advisor. How is this much worse? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/27 "2017-03-22T18:59:01Z")
This may be splitting hairs, but teaching \*about \*the Bible sounds perfectly legal, unless we want all World Religions courses to be illegal (teaching \*about \*the Korean, about Islam, about Buddhism, Taoism, etc.) Teaching the Bible to \*promote \* the Bible as \*proselytization \*is what would be illegal under the Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/28 "2017-03-22T19:13:19Z")
Speaking as a public high school Social Studies teacher… I can talk about religion, and I do. I can allude to the Bible, and I have. That’s all fine. IF I were an English teacher, could I teach kids the story of David & Goliath? The story of Noah’s Ark? The story of the creation from Genesis? Sure I could! After all, any educated person should know the most famous Bible stories. I could also teach about the Greek gods and goddesseswho participated in the Trojan War. What I could NOT do is teach that any one religion is true, or that any religious myth absolutely, positively, really happened. And if I were a Science teacher, I could NOT teach the Genesis account of creation at all. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/29 "2017-03-22T19:55:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > And if I were a Science teacher, I could NOT teach the Genesis account of creation at all. And all of us can be really thankful for that. The percentage of people in the US who believe in creationism is already frightening enough. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/30 "2017-03-22T20:17:54Z")
Teaching ABOUT religion in public schools is not only OK, it’s necessary to have an understanding of many historical events. Teaching that a religion is right or wrong, or endorsing various doctrines, is not acceptable. Having religious extracurriculars, like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Jewish or Muslim clubs, that kind of thing, is also legal. I don’t have a problem with mentioning the Genesis account as many people believe it (that the earth was created in a literal week, approximately 6,000 years ago), also in the context of assorted cultures’ creation myths. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/31 "2017-03-22T20:19:56Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Recently, there’s been some pushback from conservative Christians, who view schools without religion as a bad idea. One of those Christians is the Attorney General of the United States, who views anything secular as evil. This being elementary school, I cannot see this as anything other than indoctrination. > [@](#): > > I can’t help feeling they’re only cool with this because it’s Christianity. Were it any other religion, I suspect they’d suddenly have objections. If it was any religious text other than the bible, there would not be objections, there would be conniption fits. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/32 "2017-03-22T21:03:00Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > I am curious – > > If a school allows a student-created and led Bible class, must it also allow a student-created and led Koran class? How about a student-created and led Wiccan class? > > Suppose a school already allows the Baptist Bible class. If a Satanism class is proposed, can the school disallow the Baptist class solely to enable disallowing the Satanism class? > > My own suspicion is that once the first is allowed, the school cannot disallow other religious classes, but I don’t know. And I don’t know if the school can avoid the whole issue by not allowing any religious classes. There have been challenges of just the sort you mention. If a school supports student created clubs then the school administration cannot constitutionally pick and choose which clubs to allow based upon the particular religious affiliation (or lack thereof). They can use content neutral policies that apply equally to all. So no problem refusing midnight meeting of the Wiccan Club on the grounds that the school facilities are only available for student led extra-curricular activities until 6pm. But if they want to meet during the same hours as other clubs, the school administration cannot use the content of the club as the deciding factor to refuse them. Yes, at least one after school satan club is [up and running](http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/11/first_meeting_of_the_after_sch.html) in Portland, Oregon. Reportedly it is the first of its kind in the nation. And its first meeting in 2016 drew protesters who drove from far and wide to express their opposition. The Satan Club was organized to provide a counter view the The Good News Club, a Christian religious club. The leader of The Good News Club was quoted as saying about the Satan Club, “They have that right even though we don’t agree with what they’re doing.” ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/33 "2017-03-22T21:29:19Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The Satan Club was organized to provide a counter view the The Good News Club, a Christian religious club. The leader of The Good News Club was quoted as saying about the Satan Club, “They have that right even though we don’t agree with what they’re doing.” Now that’s the kind of Christian I have no problem with at all. I wish there were more like him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/34 "2017-03-22T22:49:27Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > The only way I can see the Bible in a public school is as part of a World Religions class (and even there, it had better share equal time with the Q’uran, Jewish texts, Hindu sacred texts, etc.). > [@boffking](#): > > If public schools are going to teach religion, they should teach **all** religions. I’ve had world Civ classes in high school where we did talk about the history of many different religions, and I think that is a great way for kids to get perspective. I don’t see any reason, and certainly no requirement, why a Christianity class should be part of a general religion class or be taught alongside other religious classes. If a school had a course on American History, would people object that they weren’t also teaching Canadian History and British History? If a school has courses in French and Spanish, are people going to object they’re not teaching every language? Christianity is the predominant religion in the United States; there’s secular reasons why a school might have a class on Christianity without having equivalent classes on other religions. That said, it’s important to maintain the distinction between teaching about a religion and teaching the religion. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/35 "2017-03-23T00:51:13Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > The only way I can see the Bible in a public school is as part of a World Religions class (and even there, it had better share equal time with the Q’uran, Jewish texts, Hindu sacred texts, etc.). I read parts of the Bible in my high school English classes. The reason being that you can’t really understand lots of classical western literature without having a basic understanding of some parts of the Bible If I recall correctly, the teacher sent a letter home with all the students explaining this reasoning. It was fine. We weren’t being taught religion, we were being taught about religion. And it didn’t share time with any other religious texts, because, for the most part, the impact of other religious texts on classic English literature is significantly less than that of the Bible. But we were high school students. Kindergarteners don’t need a contextual understanding of the Bible to fully grok their literature assignments. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/36 "2017-03-23T04:34:32Z")
Thread from last month about this case: [West Virginia public schools sued over Bible classes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=818608&highlight=bible+west+virginia) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/37 "2017-03-23T12:00:12Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > In England where I live it was commoRn in the 50s for kids to attend Sunday School run by the Church of England even though it would have been quite legal to hold them in state schools as the UK is officially a Protestant Christian country. There have always been state-funded church schools in the UK as well, and until relatively recently it was the law in England and Wales that all schools had to have a daily assembly for collective worship “of broadly Christian character” (in practice, increasingly unobserved or so broadly interpreted as to be not particularly religious at all). Religious education is part of the national curriculum syllabus, but not as part of promoting any particular religious belief or practice over another or none. Bible study on its own without any context or comparative study, even in a church school, would quite likely get a bad rating from the inspectors (as has also happened to supplementary private Islamic schools). ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/38 "2017-03-23T12:39:13Z")
Any class that teaches the Christian Bible (or the Koran or the Book of Mormon or any other religious text) as inerrant truth, the word of God, etc. would be unconstitutional. Indoctrinating children into religious belief is well beyond the remit of public education in the U.S. Of course, as others in this thread have pointed out, it is perfectly acceptable to teach about the Bible (or the Koran or the Book of Mormon) in a course devoted to literature, religious studies, history, etc. But there is an obvious, fundamental difference between studying a text from an academic perspective and from a spiritual/religious one. “This book is the word of God, and you must follow its precepts” is a far cry from “This book forms the basis of belief for the followers of this particular religion.” Even the McCarthy-era insertion of “under God” into the pledge of allegiance seems unconstitutional to me (though I know it has been upheld by various courts). And even though I find the pledge a disturbing quasi-fascist exercise even without the mention of God, no child can be compelled to say it. Participation in religious study when a child has no chance to opt out would be especially egregious, but any form of school-led religious study should not occur as part of the official curriculum. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/39 "2017-03-23T16:02:11Z")
To keep things clear–this isn’t a student ran class or club, it’s “overseen” by the board of education but administered by and funded by an outside group who send in basically itinerant religious teachers. It isn’t a religion class in the collegiate sense, it’s basically Sunday school inside of public schools, and is quite clearly done to promote and indoctrinate a specific religion–a specific flavor of non-denominational Christianity that leans towards evangelical Protestantism. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743/40 "2017-03-23T16:08:43Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > To keep things clear–this isn’t a student ran class or club, it’s “overseen” by the board of education but administered by and funded by an outside group who send in basically itinerant religious teachers. It isn’t a religion class in the collegiate sense, it’s basically Sunday school inside of public schools, and is quite clearly done to promote and indoctrinate a specific religion–a specific flavor of non-denominational Christianity that leans towards evangelical Protestantism. There is a large segment of the American population who believe that religious instruction in schools is a good thing. We are always going to find districts where parents try to push the limit, especially in those areas where almost everyone is “Christian”, and where the spotlight isn’t shining too brightly. But the courts have made it clear that religious instruction is not allowed, so it’s generally just a matter of getting a court case going. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bible-classes-in-us-public-schools-unconstitutional/782743.md?page=3)