A Utah school district will consider banning the Holy Bible in its schools after a parent complained that it violates a state law regarding “sensitive" reading materials in schools.
The parent in the Davis School District reportedly claimed that certain passages in the Bible are “pornographic” and inappropriate for schools (via the New York Post):
“Get this PORN out of our schools!” pleas the anonymous parent in their scathing request to Davis High School, calling the Bible the “one of the most sex-ridden books around.”
Utah’s law HB0374, passed last year, prohibits materials that include “pornographic or indecent” content.
The parent cited the Bible’s “incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape and even infanticide” as cause for its removal.
The parent reportedly complained on Dec. 11 and called the nonprofit group Utah Parents United, which advocates for the removal of inappropriate books, a “white supremacist hate group.”
Nichole Mason, president of Utah Parents United, told The Post that H.B. 0374 is “meant to protect children from unrestricted access to explicit sexual content in k-12 schools,” adding that “none of the passages from the Bible meet the Bright Line Standard for pornographic content.”
The parent reportedly sent in their own list of books for review (via the New York Post):
The anonymous person submitted an eight-page list of their own for review, which cited and quoted specific biblical passages that described, alluded to or depicted scenarios that could be considered “offensive,” they claimed.
“You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition,” the Utah parent wrote.
“If the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a slam dunk.”
The school district has an eight-page policy outlining the selection and removal of reading materials in its schools, according to The Hill. The school district has received over 80 requests to review books for removal. So far, the district has removed 33.
State Rep. Ken Ivory, who sponsored the state’s book ban bill, called the request “a backhanded slap to parents that are simply trying to keep a healthy learning environment for all students in the schools.”
“I have every confidence that no school district is going to consider the Bible as violating 76-10-1227,” he told the Post, referencing the section of the law that describes sex acts or sexual immorality in literature.
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