Genesis Of Controversy: Report On Gideons' Bible Distribution Is A Revelation
Rob Boston printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 11:47:09 AM EST
When I was in college, we could always tell when the relentless western Pennsylvania winter was finally losing its grip by two key events: A roving evangelist would appear on campus and scream at women he thought were immodestly attired, and the Gideons would stand outside the cafeteria and pass out copies of the New Testament.

I didn't mind taking one. After all, I was an adult and it was my choice. But in looking it over, I noticed one thing: The first few pages emphasized the passage John 3:16. Many fundamentalists see this verse as the key to becoming "born again."


John 3:16 is so important to the Gideons that in their Bibles, they list it in several languages. I was impressed because I had never heard of Sinhalese before, let alone seen an example. Alongside this was information about what the Bible says about sin, family life, Heaven and Jesus Christ - all reflecting a fundamentalist perspective.

My point is that the Gideon Bible isn't just a Bible. It's a certain type of Bible, one that reflects a fundamentalist interpretation of that book.

It's one thing to get a version of the Bible intended to persuade you to change your religion at a public college. It's quite another to get one in fifth-grade at a public school.

Yet that's what happens in many parts of the country every year. Despite court rulings striking down the school-sanctioned distribution of Bibles in public schools, the practice goes on - much to the detriment of parents' rights and students' religious liberty.

Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas issued an investigative report on Gideons activity in the Lone Star State. The findings are illuminating.

ACLU staff attorney Fleming Terrell sent open-records requests to 10 Texas school districts. He reported that the distribution of Gideon Bibles in public schools not only raised constitutional concerns but also disrupted the educational activities of the schools.

The report, "Distribution of Gideon Bibles in Texas Public Schools: Impact on Students' Religious Liberty," lists some of the problems these school districts experienced. They include:

  • Students at Vines High School in Texas were inundated with Bibles - so many that some students threw them at one another, ripped out pages and, in one case, used a page to roll a joint.

  • In Frisco and Plano intermediate schools, Jewish students reported being harassed because they did not take Bibles. At Frankford Middle School, students asked a Jewish classmate if he would die if he touched a Bible and threw copies at him.

  • Also at Frisco, Gideons worked behind the scenes with the system's director of communications to distribute Bibles in 13 schools without the principals' knowledge. Not surprisingly, an uproar promptly erupted.

The report highlights other problems, such as school officials pressuring students to take Bibles even if they don't want them and schools giving Gideons preferential access. (When was the last time you read about a Muslim group passing out copies of the Quran to fifth graders?)

The report includes a series of recommendations. It notes that many of the school districts have policies in place curbing the distribution of material by outside groups. These rules were apparently bent to accommodate the Gideons.

The ACLU report states, "These incidents underscore the danger of school districts creating the appearance that they favor the Gideons' brand of religion over others when they permit Gideon Bible distribution. They also expose districts to potential legal liability for violating the Establishment Clause or turning a blind eye to harassment against religious minorities."

Bingo.

I'd like to add one other thought: When schools allow the Gideons access to young students to distribute Bibles, they are usurping parental rights.

As a college student, I was old enough to make decisions about religion on my own. A fifth grader lacks that level of maturity, and that's why most parents see instruction about religion as such an important part of their duties. Naturally, parents want to pass along the religious or philosophical views they hold.

School-sanctioned distribution of Bibles interferes in that relationship. Public schools simply have no right to do that.  

There are plenty of ways for the Gideons to disseminate their Bibles, such as using street-corner stands, booths at community events or even door-to-door visits.

The public schoolhouse door should remain firmly closed to them.




Display:
I didn't encounter the Gideons as much as tracts and people passing out tracts in and around the schools.  Most were the usual "repent or go to hell" with all sorts of illustrations of how bad hell was.  Some were anti-gay.  Tracts seemed to be the "in thing" in Va. in the 60's and early 70's (up until I graduated from High School).  The Gideon bible was what you found in hotel rooms and places like that.

They're still giving them out at my school, BTW.  And they're exactly as you describe.  If the idiots realized that most of their bibles ended up immediately in the trash or thrown on the ground, maybe they'd stop.  It kind of broke my heart to see it- but I blame the Gideons.  They shouldn't push religion where/when it's not wanted.

I think that people need to hear more about things like this.  It makes me wonder if this is also going on in central Florida... because this area is at least as bad as Texas.

by ArchaeoBob on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:58:53 PM EST


I believe I still have my Gideon's New Testament somewhere.  I vaguely remember them being handed out to us either in class or during morning assembly.   Of course, since my (public) school was affiliated with the Church of Scotland, my parents had already bought me a Bible since it was on the list of equipment that was required for school!

Ah, the joys of the established church...

Looking at their UK website it appears they still distribute their Bibles in schools there.  I wonder what they do in the many multi-ethnic schools that exist these days?  In any case, given the complete lack of news about the subject from the UK, I can only surmise that it's simply not a big issue there, either way.  And it's not as though the school distribution of Gideon Bibles has resulted in a new generation of fundamentalist Christians -- quite the opposite in fact!

by tacitus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 01:52:52 PM EST

Yes, they were ubiquitous throughout the Midwestern US as well. They were much easier to obtain than a dictionary for any kid. They really laid it on from 5th through 8th grades, I seem to remember.

by trog69 on Wed Oct 14, 2009 at 12:35:52 AM EST
Parent



WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.