Legislators encourage biblical instruction

Bob Kellogg - OneNewsNow - 2/2/2012 4:00:00 AM

One lawmaker is pleased that the South Dakota Legislature has overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution recommending school districts provide biblical instruction.

The resolution passed in the House by a vote of 55 to 15, and in the Senate 25 to 10. The bill's main sponsor, Rep. Steve Hickey (R), says students need to know the central role the Bible played in shaping Western civilization.

"All the great leaders of our nation, and boy do we need great leaders today, but all the ones of the past -- George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. -- were frequent Bible quoters," he notes. "And I have a concern, as many others do … that we're cranking out kids today who can't do much more than quote SpongeBob."

Hickey, who is a pastor, says despite what many critics argue, it is permissible to teach the Bible's role in history and culture without violating the First Amendment. As the National School Boards Association explains, the instruction just has to be academic, it cannot press students to accept religion or ask them to conform to a specific religious belief, and it cannot encourage or discourage any specific religious views.

"When prayer was tossed out of schools by a famous Supreme Court case, Abington v. Schempp in 1963, that court decision contained a very strong statement that the Bible should be included in school," Rep. Hickey explains.

His resolution encourages school districts to voluntarily provide instruction that makes students familiar with the content, character, and narratives of the Bible.