After Bible ban, Utah school district weighs ban on Book of Mormon
A SCHOOL DISTRICT IN UTAH THAT OPTED TO PULL THE BIBLE FROM ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARIES IS NOW CONSIDERING WHETHER TO BAN THE BOOK OF MORMON – A TEXT SACRED TO THE LARGEST RELIGIOUS GROUP IN THE STATE
A SCHOOL COMMITTEE DEEMED THE BIBLE AGE INAPPROPRIATE LAST MONTH BECAUSE THEY SAID IT CONTAINED VULGAR LANGUAGE OR VIOLENCE. ONE PARENT CITED OVER 60 BIBLE PASSAGES DEEMED OFFENSIVE IN THEIR COMPLAINT, ACCORDING TO AXIOS
DESPITE THE NEW RESTRICTIONS, THE BIBLE WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE IN THE DISTRICT’S HIGH SCHOOLS. MEANWHILE, THE BOOK OF MORMON IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW
ALL OF THIS COMES AFTER LAWMAKERS IN UTAH PASSED A LAW LAST YEAR THAT ALLOWS PARENTS TO REQUEST THE REMOVAL OF BOOKS FROM SCHOOLS IF THEY CONTAIN PORNOGRAPHIC OR INDECENT MATERIAL. FOX REPORTS THAT SINCE THE LAW WAS PASSED, MORE THAN 250 COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED IN UTAH ALONE
AND IT’S NOT JUST UTAH – ACCORDING TO PEN AMERICA, BOOK BANS HAVE BEEN MOST PREVALENT IN STATES LIKE TEXAS, FLORIDA, MISSOURI, AND SOUTH CAROLINA. THE ORGANIZATION REPORTS THAT ABOUT A THIRD OF RECENT BANS WERE A RESULT OF NEW STATE LAWS
A WASHINGTON POST ANALYSIS FOUND THAT SEXUAL CONTENT WAS A TOP REASON FOR RECENT BOOK CHALLENGES, WITH 61% REFERENCING THIS CONCERN. DRUGS, INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE, AND PORNOGRAPHIC CONTENT WERE ALSO CITED AMONG PARENTS’ TOP CONCERNS
THIS LATEST PETITION TO REMOVE THE BIBLE IS BEING VIEWED AS A COUNTERPUNCH TO SOME OF THOSE OFTEN CONSERVATIVE EFFORTS TO REMOVE BOOKS DEEMED INAPPROPRIATE, WITH SOME ON THE LEFT LOOKING TO DRAW A SIMILARITY
LAST YEAR, A TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT PULLED THE BIBLE FROM LIBRARY SHELVES AFTER THEY WERE CHALLENGED BY PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS… MEANWHILE A KANSAS SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL REVIEW THE BIBLE AFTER STUDENTS IN KANSAS REQUESTED TO HAVE IT REMOVED IN RETALIATION