Florida Man Demands Ban on Bible in Schools Using DeSantis’s Own Law Against Him

Florida’s political activist and atheist, a man named John Paul II, is using a contentious law that allows residents of the state to object to teaching materials in public school classrooms to ask that the Bible be removed from schools and classroom libraries across the state.

Republican Governor. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7 – sometimes called the Stop WOKE Act – into law earlier in the year. DeSantis and other right-wing lawmakers pushed for the law as well as others like it to be a means of protecting the environment. ban LGBTQ content in schoolsAs well as to Teachers cannot teach about racism throughout American history.In classrooms.

More than 200 books have been removedSo far, Florida’s public schools have used them. But after DeSantis’s administration rejected the use of more than 50 mathematics textbooks in classrooms, claiming that They contained material related to critical race theory, Florida activist Chaz Stevens said that he had seen enough.

This week Stevens sent petitions to several public school superintendents across the state, demanding that they “immediately remove the Bible from the classroom, library, and any instructional material.” Citing the Stop WOKE Act, Stevens pointed out that the subject matter contained within the Bible certainly fits the standards that Republicans have deemed objectionable for children.

Judicial rulings regarding the First Amendment to U.S. Constitution forbid teaching religious concepts for the purpose or indoctrination. But lessons can still be developed and taught on religion — including texts like the Bible — if they are approached in a secular way, and school libraries are allowed to contain such texts for students to reference.

Stevens’s petition questioned whether passages in the Bible were age-appropriate for school children, highlighting portions of the religious text that “casually” referenced murder, adultery, sexual immorality, rape, cannibalism, and infanticide, among other items.

“In the end, if Jimmy and Susie are curious about any of the above, they can do what everyone else does — get a room at the Motel Six and grab the Gideons,” Stevens said.

Stevens also noted that certain passages in the Bible are anti-slavery, and that these portions of the text could cause students in Florida classrooms to feel guilty or uncomfortable — a complaint several conservatives in the state have usedTo justify their opposition to lessons on slavery in the U.S.

“With the constant concerns about teaching Critical Race Theory, should we not take stock of the Bible’s position on slavery? I am concerned our young white students will read such passages and wake up to civilization’s sordid past,” Stevens said in his complaint.

Stevens acknowledged in his complaint, that not everyone would agree with his method of highlighting right-wing hypocrisy.

“Don’t blame me,” he wrote. “I didn’t pass this ridiculous legislation, I’m merely using the law as provided by Tallahassee.”