Losing My Religion

The Kentucky Senate has passed a measure that would allow Kentucky schools to teach the Bible as an elective.

Bible classes could be taught in Kentucky public schools under a bill that's made it halfway through the legislature. The Senate voted 34-1 to approve Senate Bill 56 on Wednesday. Under the proposal, Bible courses would be offered as electives, meaning students could decide whether to take them.

Republican Sen. Joe Bowen of Owensboro, the bill's sponsor, said the intention is to acquaint students with a book that has had tremendous impact on American society and western culture.

Democratic Sen. Kathy Stein of Lexington said the measure is unnecessary because nothing currently prohibits Kentucky public schools from teaching about the Bible. A similar measure overwhelmingly passed in the Senate last year but died in the House.

That's true, but why stop at offering Bible study courses?  Why not a full comparative religion slate?  To all the folks that say "yes, there's nothing wrong with teaching classes about the Bible in public schools" would the same apply to a class on the Quran?  Certainly there are non-Christians in Kentucky schools.  Why not offer electives for them?

Besides, I thought conservative Republicans considered teachers to be overpaid Socialist union thugs.  Certainly they wouldn't feel comfortable having them teach their kids about the Bible, right?  Like sex education in the eyes of wingers, that should be up to the parents, right?  Also, I thought we had to cut money for education because it was bloated and corrupt.  Who's teaching these classes?  Are we spending taxpayer money to train teachers to teach the Bible or to hire church officials to do so?

Certainly this isn't an effort to violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by having a public institution promote Christianity as the state's "correct" religion, yes? 

Lot of questions here I'd like my lawmakers to answer.