Bible Literacy Project News
The Chronicle of Higher Education
College Students Should Know More About the Bible, English Professors
Say in Survey
By THOMAS BARTLETT
Friday, June 2, 2006
College students need to be more familiar with the Bible,
according to a report based on a survey of 39 English professors
from different types of institutions across the country.
The report was supported by the John Templeton Foundation, whose
stated mission is to "pursue new insights at the boundary between
theology and science." The survey was conducted by the Bible
Literacy Project, which argues that the Bible should be studied in
public schools.
Eighteen of the English professors surveyed said students know less
about the Bible now than when the professors began teaching. All but
one of the professors said knowledge of the Bible was important for
students in their classes.
Some biblical knowledge is "absolutely requisite," according to
Ernest B. Gilman, a professor of English at New York University. He
said some freshmen are surprised that passages from the Bible are on
the syllabus when they come to college.
Mr. Gilman thinks the Bible should be taught in schools. "If it's OK
in colleges, then why isn't it OK in high schools?" he asked.
But Mr. Gilman said he was concerned that the results of the study
could be used to support the views of people who want the Bible read
as a devotional text in public schools. "I would be horrified if it
became a way of smuggling one flavor of Christianity into the
classroom," Mr. Gilman said.
Likewise, Kevin Dunn, a professor of English and an academic dean at
Tufts University, was a "little leery" about participating in the
survey. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't being used," he said.
Mr. Dunn teaches a course on the Bible as literature but steers
clear of using it for any spiritual purpose in class. "I would say
that knowledge of all religious texts is crucial," Mr. Dunn said.
The founder of the Bible Literacy Project, Chuck Stetson, said the
purpose of his organization and the new report has to do with
education, not religion. Mr. Stetson, a venture capitalist, believes
that fear of violating laws regarding the separation of church and
state has led public schools to delete the Bible from the
curriculum. And that, he argues, is a mistake.
"You can teach the Bhagavad-Gita all day long. You can teach the
Koran all day long. But as soon as it comes to the Bible, people say
'separation of church and state,'" Mr. Stetson said.
Mr. Stetson said he was not in favor of teaching the Bible for
devotional purposes in public schools. "Knowledge belongs in the
schools," he said. "Belief belongs in the houses of worship."
©2006 The Chronicle of Higher Education
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