Utah District Prohibits Bible in Elementary and Middle Schools Citing Concerns of Vulgarity or Violence

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A controversial decision in Utah has led to the banning of the Bible from elementary and middle schools due to a parent’s argument that certain Bible verses contain inappropriate content that is unsuitable for young children. Following this action, there are concerns that the Book of Mormon may also face a similar fate.

The Davis School District, which serves 72,000 students in the vicinity of Salt Lake City, has decided to remove the Bible from elementary and middle schools while retaining it in high schools. The decision came after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to a complaint from a parent. The district has previously eliminated other titles, such as Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” in accordance with a state law enacted in 2022 that mandates parental involvement in determining what qualifies as “sensitive material.”

Recently, a complaint was lodged regarding the signature scripture of the predominant faith in Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church. District spokesperson Chris Williams confirmed that an individual had requested a review of the Book of Mormon, but the specific reasons for the request were not disclosed. Due to the district’s privacy policy, it remains unknown whether this request came from the same person who complained about the Bible.

Representatives of the Mormon church have chosen not to comment on the matter, as members of their faith also read the Bible.

According to Williams, the district treats all book review requests equally and does not consider whether complaints may be submitted as satire. The review process is conducted by a committee composed of teachers, parents, and administrators within the predominantly conservative community.

Although the committee published its decision to remove the Bible in an online database of review requests, it did not provide further explanation for its reasoning or specify which passages were deemed excessively violent or vulgar.

This decision aligns with a larger trend of conservative parent activists, including local chapters of the group Parents United, actively engaging with school boards and legislatures across the United States to express concerns about the discussion of sex and violence in schools.

Due to the district’s privacy policy, the identity of the individual who requested the Bible ban in Davis schools remains unknown, as well as any potential affiliation with larger organizations.

A copy of the complaint, obtained through a public records request, reveals that the parent highlighted instances of incest, prostitution, and rape present in the Bible. The complaint criticized the process as lacking good faith and accused the district of compromising children’s education, First Amendment rights, and access to the library, attributing these actions to Parents United.

“The Bible, one of the most sexually explicit books, has been conveniently omitted by Utah Parents United,” the parent’s complaint, dated December 11, stated. It further argued, “You will undoubtedly find that, under state law, the Bible holds ‘no serious values for minors’ due to its pornographic nature, as per our new definition.”

Williams clarified that the review committee determined the Bible did not meet Utah’s criteria for pornography or indecency, which is why it remains available in high schools. He also explained that the committee has the authority to make independent decisions under the new state law of 2022 and has applied varying standards based on students’ ages in response to multiple challenges.

An anonymous party has submitted an appeal to the decision on Wednesday.

The Bible has long been a subject of controversy and frequently appears on the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books. In the past year, it was temporarily removed from school districts in Texas and Missouri.

Concerns about new policies potentially affecting the Bible have surfaced during debates over book banning procedures in various state legislatures, including Arkansas. The state enacted a law this year that could impose criminal penalties on librarians for providing “harmful” materials to minors and establishes a new process for public requests to relocate materials within libraries.

During a hearing, Arkansas Democratic state Senator Linda Chesterfield voiced her opposition to the possibility of the Bible being excluded from libraries, saying, “I don’t want people to be able to say, ‘I don’t want the Bible in the library.'”

Parents advocating for more control over their children’s education and the curriculum, including the materials available in schools, argue that they should have a say in how topics such as gender, sexuality, and race are taught.

EveryLibrary, a national political action committee, reported tracking at least 121 proposals introduced in state legislatures this year that targeted libraries, librarians, educators, and access to materials. The American Library Association stated that the number of attempts to ban or restrict books in the United States reached a 20-year high in 2022.

Kasey Meehan, the director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America, a writers’ organization, emphasized the importance of recognizing that if people are outraged by the Bible ban, they should also be concerned about the censorship of numerous other books in public schools.

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More about Bible ban in Utah schools

• Utah school district removes Bible from elementary and middle schools
• Controversy over banning the Bible in Utah schools
• American Library Association’s list of most challenged books
• Parents United and their involvement in school materials decisions
• Debate over censorship and parental control in education
• Freedom to Read program by PEN America