US: Utah Primary Schools Ban Bible

Facts

• The Davis School District has reportedly banned the Bible from elementary and middle schools for allegedly containing "vulgarity or violence." The book, however, will remain in place in high school libraries.¹
• The move takes effect immediately and follows a parent's complaint that cited Utah's 2022 law banning books with "pornographic or indecent" material.²
• The complaint termed the King James Bible "one of the most sex-ridden books around" and included passages from the religious text it claimed violated the law.³
• The Utah state lawmaker behind the 2022 law, who had previously dismissed the Bible removal request as a "mockery" of the statute, ruled that it doesn't violate the law in question but called the Holy Book a challenging read "not suitable for younger students."⁴
• Meanwhile, on Friday, the district received a request to remove the Book of Mormon, the religious text used in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for "sensitive material," including battles, beheadings, and kidnappings.⁵
• The removal comes amid a wider push across the US as several states have reportedly introduced legislation to prohibit certain books in children's education, with Florida having removed some LGBTQ+ and race books and Iowa having enacted a law to ensure libraries carry "age-appropriate" books.⁵

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²NPR Online News, ³The Salt Lake Tribune, ⁴BBC News, and ⁵CNN.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by Sky News. The effort to ban the Bible was undoubtedly a mockery of conservative states that are standing against left-wing indoctrination in American schools. Unfortunately, even after acknowledging that the Bible's content didn't violate the law, the district pulled it from the school shelves, arguing it wasn't suitable for younger children. The decision is illogical, baseless, and hypocritical.
• Left narrative, as provided by New York Daily News. Conservatives are reaping what they sow, as seen by this latest ban. As the GOP culture war continues to cripple education systems nationwide and children's curiosity and critical thought, parents have had enough. Hopefully, the removal of the Bible — which is merely following GOP guidelines — will force the opposition to rethink its war on freedom of thought.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by CNN. It's dangerous that politicians and advocacy groups, who place politics above young people's education needs, are deciding what children should read. If the rising trend to ban, limit, or restrict books goes unchecked, politicians will control how students — caught in the crossfire of these bipartisan games — are taught and how they think. America's war on books must end.

Predictions