Bibles in schools

[Panacea]

This article about a parent upset about Bibles being handed out to her kid at school (she's pagan) was posted in my local paper a few days ago, and generated quite a bit of heat in the comments.

I'm curious to know what folks here think of the situation. What should have been done?

[Hyena Dandy]

Do not approve, Gideons International. Do not approve at ALL.

I am not angry at the school, though. The people who accepted it clearly were under the impression that it was okay for Gideons to do it. In fact, they may very well have been under the impression that it would be against the rules for them NOT to allow it. Bad judgement, wrong, but I don't think there's any malice. Simply being mistaken.

Gideons, though, have basically one thing they do. They drop Bibles off in places. They hand out little New Testaments, and whatnot. And thus, it is THEIR job to KNOW that this is against the rules. They should have known the ruling, and they should not have even asked.

Gideons, I am disappoint.

[Mishi]

The court ruling said that they can't, so they shouldn't have. It may have been a mistake, in which case they should apologise for and learn from it.

That said, it wouldn't bother me if my kids came home from school at any age with some Pagan/Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu/Pastafarian/Atheist literature because it's something new to learn about and discuss. Yes I'm a Christian, I just don't see the need to buy into the us versus them mentality.

[Kheldarson]

I'm with HD. This is on Gideons. Maybe the school should've known better, but it wasn't like they were passing them out deliberately. It was left in the office, like it would've been done at a high school. It's the groups fault for dropping it off at the wrong school.

[RedRoseSpiral]

I'm wondering if this was really a "go grab one if you want it" thing or a "let's go to the office and get a copy, kids" thing. Really would be surprised if the teacher took the kids up there and the reason the boy grabbed a copy was because everyone else was based on my own experiences at school. One year, about 3rd-4th grade, the teacher pressured everyone in the class to choose one of the Bibles that she had provided for silent reading time. If I had known what I do now I would have made a fuss about it.

[Kheldarson]

Indication from the article was that they were just left in the office. And honestly, what kid wouldn't go digging through an open box full of something if they had to wait around in any office?

[Andara Bledin]

Honestly, I think fault lies equally with Gideons and the superintendent. Both sides should have known of the 1998 decision that religious materials are not to be made available below the high school level.

It's not merely that they were left in the office, but that the students were made aware of their presence.

^-.-^

[SkullKing]

An hypothetical question.

The bible has a LOT of scenes that would be classified "M for Mature"

From sex to genocide.

What would happen if this young children had an adverse reaction to reading one of this parts in school?

It is my understanding that even religious institutions don´t just hand a bible to young children for that very reason.

I know that reading a bible when I was on first grade was a very upsetting experience for me.

More than any film I have ever seem to be honest.