ABSTRACT
The basic questions to be explored here are these: Can schools promote critical thinking on religious topics? How might we approach this task?
Bible Literacy
In the United States, teaching about religion in public schools is permissible under the Constitution, and there are good, secular reasons for doing so. Asked about our purpose in teaching the Bible, for example, we can make a sound secular claim for teaching the Bible as literature. The King James version has long been regarded as a literary masterpiece. In addition to its own status as literature, the Bible contains stories, expressions, phrases and proverbs that often appear in other literary works. Richard Dawkins, confessed atheist, lists almost three pages of biblical phrases found in literature, and he points out that “We can give up belief in God while not losing touch with a treasured heritage” (2006, 344).
