Greensboro, NC—March 27, 2006     

The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) applauds the Georgia state legislature’s overwhelming passage of a bill calling for the Bible to be taught in Georgia’s public schools.  “We are very pleased that the state legislature decided properly to determine that the Old and New Testaments were to be the text of any elective Bible curriculum taught in Georgia public schools,” said Elizabeth Ridenour, President of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.  “It is important the Bible be used as the main textbook in order that the Bible is taught from a position of neutrality in accordance with the Constitution.  A textbook about the Bible could be written from a biased worldview, but if the Bible is used as the text, students can study the original source, and draw their own conclusions.” 

Representatives voting for SB 79, which passed the House 151-7 and the Senate 50-1, say the legislation would withstand a court challenge because it treats the Bible as an educational supplement. Under the bill, the Old Testament and New Testament would be the primary text for each class and the local school board would decide which version of the text to use. Students would also have the option to use a different version of the text. The bill also requires that the courses should be taught "in an objective and non-devotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students." 

A rival Democratic bill called for "nonsectarian, non-religious academic study" of the Bible through a textbook called The Bible and Its Influence, which is published by the Virginia- based Bible Literacy Project (BLP).  Republican State Senator Eric Johnson said his Democratic colleagues were "trying to put a wolf in sheep's clothing" with the rival legislation. "Whether there's a national memo from the Democratic Party to try and act like there's more faith on their side of the aisle, I don't know," Johnson said, "but what they're saying in Georgia is they're proposing to teach the Bible, but they won't use the Bible as a text."   

“In the end, political agendas were put aside to advance the Bible being taught in the Georgia public schools, and it will be the textbook for the class—and that’s a victory for all students who would take the elective course,” Ridenour said.