Several schools in a school district in the US state of Utah have banned the Bible, after a student’s parent denounced the religious book as pornographic, due to its sexual and violent content.
This tutor took advantage of a controversial state law that allows schools to remove textbooks considered inappropriate for students, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, quoted by Efe.
According to this father, the bible contains passages on incest, rape and prostitution, and is essentially pornographic, according to a state law passed in 2022, which has been used mainly by conservative groups to censor books on racial issues or on the LGBTQI community. (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans, queer and intersex).
The Bible has been retired for elementary or middle school students, while high schools can keep it.
In a message on the social network Facebook, the Republican congressman who promoted this law considered the book “difficult reading” for younger students and added that “traditionally, in the United States, the Bible is best taught and understood at home and around the fireplace.” , as a family”.
According to the Tribune, the parent who filed the complaint did so out of frustration with the removal of books from schools due to complaints, a trend that has been highlighted since April by groups that defend freedom of expression in the country.
In late May, a Miami school restricted access to a poem by African-American Amanda Gorman, read during the 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden, deeming it inappropriate for younger children.
In a context of culture wars between Republicans and Democrats, which divide the country, some conservative states try to monitor reading, for example by discarding books that they accuse, for example, of promoting homosexuality, progressive ideologies or being too shocking.
Classics such as Toni Morrison’s novels or Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” have been targeted by school authorities.
Source: TSF
