Utah Republicans, including parents, are out to ban books containing vulgarity, pornography, and all types of sexual content in schools and libraries. However, nobody thought it would include the Bible.
Battle over books
Bitter rifts over library books have developed in school districts all around the United States, and social media and political campaigns have exacerbated those rifts. The conflicts have frequently evolved into stand-ins for more general arguments about themes like racial inequity, gender identity, and free expression.
The Bible has been examined in other states besides Utah. According to Education Week, such concerns have been made in Texas, Florida, and Missouri.
The Utah Legislature passed House Bill 374 in 2022, which was billed as a way to prohibit pornographic materials from K–12 classrooms and libraries.
A March survey from the American Library Association indicated that the vast majority of books that received complaints nationwide were written by or about L.G.B.T.Q. individuals or people of color.
Increasing book bans
Additionally, it was discovered that efforts to outlaw books significantly increased in 2022 compared to 2021.
Conservative organizations, such as Moms for Liberty and Utah Parents United, have pushed for new removal regulations or many book deletions.
Should the Bible be banned?
The Bible does not include sensitive material as defined by state law, but it does contain elements of “vulgarity or violence” that are inappropriate for younger students, according to CBS station KUTV.
According to KSL.com, Christopher Williams, Davis School District’s director of communication, that while The Bible was not removed under the new law: “The [review] committee also decided to retain the book in school library circulation only at the high school level based on age appropriateness due to vulgarity or violence.”
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