Exit Stage Left

Recently a debate about the teaching of the biblical texts in our public schools has arisen. It was a featured story on Oprah today, made the cover of Time magazine last week and has come up more than once in the past couple of weeks on my favorite talk radio show. If you know me, you know I'm not a particularly religious person. I was raised Catholic, went to church every Sunday and have received four of the seven sacraments, but I haven't set foot in a church in more than five years and have a feeling it will be at least five more before I do. However, while religion isn't my bag, I have to admit that I truly admire others with a religious conviction or devotion as long as that devotion is pure and truthful and does not exist out of vanity or hypocrisy. I find it somehow inspiring that others have the faith to believe and trust in something that they have no physical proof exists.

As a student I always struggled with reading for school, I never enjoyed literature classes which forced me to read at a specific pace and then be tested on my comprehension and analysis of that reading. I have always enjoyed reading for leisure or pleasure, however, and embrace the educational aspects of that experience. In high school eight semesters of English courses: literature, writing, grammar, etc. were required for graduation. After taking the standard courses and as much creative writing as possible, I was somewhat forced into taking literature courses in order to get that diploma. I struggled my way through "Comic Vision," and "Popular Literature" and then found a class that seemed somewhat interesting: "The Bible as Literature."

Being Catholic, I was really only familiar with the New Testament--upon which Catholic liturgy focuses-- and thought this might be a good opportunity to learn about the stories of the Old Testament specifically and, in turn graduate. I didn't fear the teacher trying to make me more Christian and I didn't fear demagoguery as a result of the experience, nor did my parents. I simply viewed it as a class which taught me about the actual writings in the Bible, which, like it or not, is the greatest-selling book of all time. It is by most counts, a masterpiece and one with which a great deal of cultural and historical references are based.

I don't believe that Americans have to be intimately familiar with the Bible--in fact I feel exactly contrary to that, but I do believe that since 76.5% of Americans classify themselves as Christian they should at least be familiar with the stories, lessons, fables and parables contained within the text they consider sacred and upon which their faith is based. The fact that 60% of Americans can't name five of the ten commandments tells me that not only are Americans quite possibly--on the whole--the laziest society in the World, but also that they are--on the whole--hypocrites. We encounter Biblical references on a daily basis in our society and sadly I would venture an uneducated guess that an equal 60% of Americans have no clue that these references even occur. Politicians pander to this Christian sub sect knowing that those of us without a spiritual or religious inclination will simply accept the references as a part of the greater whole of society. Sadly, I think those of us who don't read the Bible as a part of a religious ritual or spiritual fulfillment are more familiar with the specific references than those who claim to live their lives with the writings as a central driving force. It is indeed that which has taught me that the Bible is not just a religious text, but a social and cultural one. One that has become so ingrained in society that rather than asking if we should be teaching it in a public school setting, I would ask: why aren't we demanding that it be taught?