Bible removed from school libraries due to ‘vulgarity or violence’ says committee.

Unintended Consequences: Utah School District Removes King James Bible from Libraries

Every new law or regulation has the potential to lead to unintended consequences. Case in point: The Davis School District in Utah recently removed the King James Bible from elementary and middle school libraries after a complaint led to a committee review. The review concluded that the Scriptures were age-inappropriate due to their vulgarity and violence.

The Bible will remain on high school shelves throughout the system, according to the outlet.

While the decision specifically targeted the King James Bible, it is unclear whether other translations were affected. The district’s Communications Director, Christopher Williams, stated that the Bible did not contain “sensitive material” as defined by Utah law, but some of its contents were deemed inappropriate for younger readers.

Utah residents were given the right to challenge specific books in public school libraries last year. Since then, 33 books have been removed from library shelves to protect younger students from “sex, vulgarity, and violence.” In this case, an unidentified individual requested the Bible’s removal, citing “49 pages of biblical verses” that could be considered in violation of the new law’s guidelines.

Contextualizing the Bible

The Bible describes thousands of years of historical events, including less savory incidents such as murder, incest, rape, and other offenses. While these depictions are hardly graphic by today’s standards, some could arguably require adult explanation for younger children to understand and contextualize them.

Despite the decision to remove the King James Bible from library shelves, it is not taught as part of the district’s curriculum. An appeal has been filed, and the decision will be heard by three members of the Board of Education before being decided upon by the full board.

“The Bible has always been best studied around the fireplace by the families where, you know, parents can give context to the warnings and the teachings that are in the Bible,” said Utah State Rep. Ken Ivory.

Rep. Ivory agreed with the review committee’s decision to pull the Bible from shelves, arguing that the removal of dozens of books from school library shelves should not be considered “banning books.” Instead, he stated that the district was simply clarifying age-appropriate limits.

While unintended consequences are inevitable, it remains to be seen whether the decision to remove the King James Bible from library shelves will have a lasting impact on the Davis School District.

This article was originally published by The Western Journal.

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