This news out of Utah should worry anyone concerned about the separation of Church and State. Utah public education will begin requiring the Bible taught through "specific passages from the texts that allude to founding documents" of the US Constitution. IOW, if the Constitution mentions a Biblical idea, then that portion of the Bible should be discussed as a portion of Social Studies lessons in grades 3-12.
On the surface, this wording is designed to fit within the framework of the Supreme Court's 1963 decision that the Bible cannot be used for readings and recitations but only as a historical or literary text. However, as a former Evangelical Christian, I can assure you this legislation fits perfectly into the "Train up a child" mindset of propagating the Christian faith.
"Train up a child" means this: For an adult to maintain his Christian faith, he must first be trained in that faith as a child. It comes from Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Evangelical Christians call it "faith formation," "discipling children," "spiritual parenting," and "next-generation ministry." Sociologists call it "faith transmission."
Ever wonder how Christianity is the majority religion in the United States while Islam is the majority religion in Saudi Arabia, Judaism is the majority religion in Israel, and Hinduism is the majority religion in India? It's because the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu parents "transmit" their religion down to their children (again, faith transmission). No child is "born" Christian/Muslim/Jewish/Hindu - those religions are learned, just as the Greeks of 2,500 years ago taught their children about Zeus worship and the Egyptians of 4,000 years ago taught their children about Ra worship.
Just as the racial demographic in the US has been changing, so has the religious demographic. The latest data show white (non-Hispanic) people make up 59% (204 million) of the US population compared to 64% (223 million) about 15 years ago. In approximately the same period, Christianity has declined from 78% of the population in 2007 to 62% of the population in 2024. The steepest declines in Christianity are generational with 80% of the oldest adults saying they're Christians while only 46% of the youngest adults say they're Christians. And before you start claiming, “Those young adults will return to Christianity when they have children and get older,” remember that goes against both the Bible (“Train up a child…”) and against sociological research into faith transmission.
Which brings us back to that Utah legislation about teaching Bible passages that relate to the Constitution. The article doesn't say, but I'd bet good money the bill's sponsor is a devout Christian (possibly of the Mormon or the Evangelical variety) who's deeply concerned about both the shift in religious adherence and the shift in racial demographics (people concerned about one tend quite often to be concerned about the other) and that she's taken that Proverbs admonition to heart. How better to "train up a child" than to go to the place where children are "trained" and make sure the Bible gets inserted.
Believe me: As an Evangelical Christian for 30 years, I heard this preached, and I participated in prayers for exactly this kind of legislation. It was all "for the children," but let's call it what it is: religious indoctrination. And in this case, it's state-sponsored, and that should scare us all.
What to do next: This story's a few days old, and I don't know the status of the bill, but Utah residents should call their congressional reps and their governor's office and make it clear this bill should NOT pass. If you live anywhere else, watch for attempts like this in your own state legislatures - because they WILL happen - and be on the phone immediately with your own state reps and governor that you do NOT want religious education in the school system.
Utah students will need to learn Bible passages in American history lessons