School District Bans Bible Due to ‘Vulgarity and Violence’

The second-largest school district in Utah, the Davis School District, has prohibited the use of the King James Version of the Bible in certain schools due to concerns about “vulgarity and violence.”

A district review committee decided to remove the Bible from all schools except the high school level.

According to a spokesperson, the committee said the Bible “does not contain sensitive material as defined by Utah Code” but still chose to remove it from some schools due to “age appropriateness.”

Fox 13 News reported there was a parent’s petition in March that read: “Utah Parents United left off one of the most sex-ridden books around: The Bible. You’ll no doubt find that the Bible has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.”

As reported by Fox 13:

A 2022 law passed by the Utah State Legislator banned sensitive material in schools. Since its passage, dozens of books have been banned across several state school districts.

“When many groups characterize this as banning books, that really is an attempt to simply, you know, hyperbolize what’s going on, we’re simply, clarifying age-appropriate limits,” said Rep. Ivory.

Since its passage, dozens of books have been banned across several state school districts.

With the law now in place, if a parent makes a formal request, schools have to remove any books that contain:

• Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal
• Acts of human masturbation or sexual intercourse
• Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals or pubic region

To handle that appeal, the district will now form a committee consisting of three members of Davis School District’s Board of Education. They will review the original complaint and the appeal and make a recommendation to the full board to vote on.

The board will make the final decision in an upcoming public meeting. A date for that has not yet been set.

If the board decides the Bible is appropriate for all students, it will be returned to the shelves, Williams said.

Currently, Davis School District has other religious texts — including the Book of Mormon, Torah and Quran — available to check out without age restrictions. Those have not been challenged.