x
Breaking News
More () »

Missouri lawmaker wants to end biblical illiteracy with high school Bible classes

Critics say the new law is unnecessary because schools already have the ability to teach the Bible.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Freshman Missouri lawmaker Rep. Ben Baker(R-Neosho) wants public high school students to learn more about the Bible's impact on history and Western values. House Bill 267 would allow school boards to create elective Bible literacy classes. Baker is a religious college instructor who said he's seen Bible illiteracy firsthand.

"When you got to the area of the founding era, 1760 to 1805, the students that were coming out of the public school had very little, if any knowledge of that connection," said Baker. "Because of that they missed a lot of very important things when it comes to our founding fathers and founding documents."

Critics said a new law is unnecessary because Missouri schools can already teach the Bible's societal influence.

"Teachers can already in schools throughout Missouri, quote from the Bible to illustrate a point or teach a whole elective on the Bible as a historic and cultural document if they so wish," said James Croft, outreach director for the Ethical Society of Missouri. "So that leads me to ask why, if this is already legal, does representative Baker want to waste lawmakers' time and taxpayers' money passing this bill?"

Croft said he is a former English teacher who understands the value of studying the historical influece of the Bible. But Croft said the Missouri bill has another purpose.

"It is, in fact, part of a well-orchestrated nationwide campaign put together by conservative special interest groups to promote Christianity in all areas of public life. In fact, exactly the same bill has been introduced in a number of states across the country in the last few months and I'm sure we'll see it in more states," said Croft.

Baker said he came to his conclusion about Bible illiteracy on his own.

"No one contacted me about this. I didn't contact anyone about this. This is something I've been following," said Baker. "I think there's a gap of knowledge when it comes to the connection with the influence that the Bible had on our founders in their thinking, their philosophies, and what ultimately led to a lot of the founding documents.

Croft disagrees, saying HB 267 is about more than teaching the Bible.

"It's about slowly introducing into American public life a very restrictive form of conservative Christianity. And that's why I oppose the bill."

Before You Leave, Check This Out