Here is What Public School Students Learn in Elective Bible Courses

Recently, we have written about how Arkansas law lets public schools offer elective, academic courses on the Bible — and how enrollment in these courses has grown this year.

In 2013 Arkansas passed Act 1440 letting public schools offer elective, academic courses that study “the Bible and its influence on literature, art, music, culture, and politics.”

The law says the course must be objective and nonsectarian, and it must meet the same academic standards as other elective courses offered in public schools. Anyone wishing to teach the course must be licensed to teach in the State of Arkansas. In 2019, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1016 making technical clarifications to Act 1440 of 2013.

The Arkansas Department of Education’s academic framework provides an outline for these classes and what students learn from them.

Under the framework, the academic study of the Bible is a one-semester English elective course.

Students learn about the Bible and its influence on literature, art, music, and culture.

As part of the course, students demonstrate “an understanding of narratives, poetry, and epistles contained in the Bible and how these biblical genres have influenced literature, art, and music.”

Students are also expected to:

• Recognize the variety of literary devices in biblical text;
• Identify major characters of the Bible;
• Identify themes expressed in the Bible, making comparisons with modern society today;
• Analyze poetry and songs of the Bible, making comparisons with modern poetry and music;
• Compare different translations of the Bible;
• Analyze the influence of the Bible on art and literary works;
• Examine the influence of the Bible on historical and modern day political and social movements;
• Analyze the Bible’s influence on the creation of American institutions and law.

The academic framework also notes that the Bible courses must be taught objectively.

This year lawmakers passed Act 400, the Religious Rights at Public School Act by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs). This good law affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties, and it highlights the freedom that schools have to offer academic courses on the Bible under state law.

It’s good that Arkansas’ students have the opportunity to enroll in academic courses on the Bible. After all, no single book has been more influential on our civilization.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.