A religious-watchdog group is calling a Bible course promoted by the Greensboro, N.C.-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools unfit for public schools.
In a report issued last week, Mark A. Chancey, who teaches biblical studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, criticizes the course as attempting “to persuade students to adopt views that are held primarily within certain conservative Protestant circles but not within the scholarly community.”
For example, Mr. Chancey writes in “The Bible and Public Schools” that the discussions of science in the course are based on the claims of biblical creationists. The report is published by the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund in Austin, Texas, and is available online at www.tfn.org.
The council responded in a written statement that the Bible course allows “students to hold and read the Bible for themselves and make up their own minds about its claims.” The curriculum has been approved for use by 312 public school districts in 37 states, according to the council’s Web site.
