In The Faith - A Chronicle of the Christian Faith

What’s the most controversial book in public schools? If you guessed one of the Harry Potter series or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you’re wrong. The correct answer: the Bible.

J.K. Rowling and Mark Twain may appear on the annual “banned books” list published every fall by the American Library Association. But the conflict over the place of the Bible in schools is easily the longest-running fight in the history of public education.

The latest battles in the Bible wars involve students pushing for equal treatment of their Bible clubs — and parents and teachers arguing about the constitutionality of Bible courses. Just two weeks ago, the Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling in favor of a Bible club in Spanaway, Wash. And only last month, school officials in Moorpark, Calif., canceled a Bible elective after two weeks of classes.

Nothing divides Americans like the Bible. No sooner had “common schools” opened their doors in the 19th century than a bitter struggle broke out between Protestants and Roman Catholics over whose version of the Bible would be read each morning.

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Filed under: Education