Okla. Bill Seeks To Protect Schools Offering Bible Elective Course

A man holds a bible during church services in the Brooklyn borough of New York, February 18, 2007. (Photo: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)

A new Oklahoma bill is seeking to protect schools from legal action should they choose to offer a Bible elective course.

Sen. Kyle Loveless (R-Oklahoma City) says he proposed Senate Bill 48 after the Mustang School District encountered opposition when it tried to implement a Bible elective course created by Steve Green, founder of the Hobby Lobby craft stores.

"The district and others across Okahoma have shown interest in having such a class, as an elective, and I am just wanting to keep them from feeling threatened of lawsuit or from not offering a class such as this," Loveless said in an emailed response to the The Huffington Post.

Loveless added to the Enterprise-Examiner that he doesn't see why the elective class should receive legal scrutiny in the first place.

"I don't see anything wrong with (a provision) that gives local school districts the ability to study the historical aspects of the Bible. That's my reasoning for the bill. It is not a forced class and this would not be a 'Sunday School' type course. We are not endorsing one religion over the other," he told the local media outlet.

Mustang County Schools previously agreed not to offer Green's Bible elective class, entitled "The Book: The Bible's History, Narrative and Impact," after receiving pressure from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

"In summary, the topic of a Bible course in the Mustang School District is no longer a discussion item nor is there a plan to provide such a course in the foreseeable future," Mustang schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel said in a statement following the district's decision.