Utah school district bans Bible because many verses too 'vulgar or violent' for children

Last week the Davis school district in Utah banned the Bible in schools and school libraries for containing verses that are too “vulgar or violent” for children. There are 72,000 students in the Davis school district, north of Salt Lake city, and the Bible was removed from all elementary and middle schools, but not high schools.

The removal came after a complaint by a parent, who allegedly claimed that the Bible was “one of the most sex-ridden books around."

“Utah Parents United left off one of the most sex-ridden books around: The Bible,” the parent’s complaint, dated Dec. 11, read.

“You’ll no doubt find that the Bible (under State law) has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition,” the parent wrote.

The parent was reportedly exasperated by the efforts of conservative parents to ban books from schools. A law was passed in Utah last year to allow parents to ask for the removal of books containing pornographic or indecent material. The law also required that school districts include parents in the debate as to whether something should be considered “sensitive material” in a book.

Several books have already been removed by the Davis school district, including Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska.”

An additional complaint was recently submitted about the Book of Mormons, the book of scripture used by the Mormon church. The reasons for the complaint have not been made public, nor has the identity of the person who has filed the complaint, however the Mormon religion is the predominant faith in Utah.

This incident is not the first time the Bible is has been challenged by parents in the United States.

Last year, the Bible was temporarily banned in school districts in Texas and Missouri and has remained a point of debate in state governments regarding attempts to introduce or expand book banning procedures. In the state of Arkansas, for example, a law was passed that subjects librarians to criminal penalties for supplying minors with “harmful” materials.

The efforts to ban books from schools have predominantly come from parents who want to have more influence in how their children are taught about gender, sexuality and race.

According to the American Library Association, “The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. in 2022 was the highest in 20 years,” the Times of Israel wrote.

“If folks are outraged about the Bible being banned, they should be outraged about all the books that are being censored in our public schools,” said Freedom to Read Program Director Kasey Meehan of PEN America.