So recently, I saw a list of books centered around the question "What should college students be reading". I expressed shock that only the story of Job had made the list, and commented that the entire book should be read.
Someone jumped on me for suggesting that the Bible should be studied in schools, claiming it was blatant indoctrination, and that, if the Bible were to be taught in public schools, teachers should be required to explore the negatives created by the religions based around that document.
My response was along the lines of "I merely stated that college students should be reading the Bible. Up until now, I never suggested it should be taught in public schools. However, I will make such a claim now. The Bible should be required reading in high school".
This sparked a brief discussion that was, sadly, rapidly abandoned by the other party...but it has still been on my mind. So I bring it you NSG (yes, I know we have had occasional discussions about teaching religion, and even tangential conversations about the Bible in English classrooms, but I can't recall a topic expressly looking into the issue).
My stance is this:
The Bible in its various translations has historically, and is currently, one of, if not the most widely read books in the English language. As such, it is also one of the most frequently alluded to texts. Biblical names, themes, and stories are frequently hinted at, modified, or blatantly used in literature. An understanding of the text alluded to results in a deeper understanding of the text being read.
Take, for example, the opening line of Moby-Dick: "Call me Ishmael". Powerful line...it instantly calls into question the authority of the narrator...is his name really Ishmael, or is that just what he wants us to call him? But there is more meaning there. Ishmael was Abraham's oldest son. Abraham expelled Ishmael after God told him that Issac would be the start of the Jewish nation. God also promised to make Ishmael a nation (he is the father of the Arab nation by Biblical tradition).
What information do we gain from understanding the Biblical allusion? Now, we know that not only is the narrator potentially untrustworthy, but he has taken on the name of the rejected son, graced by God, but rejected by man. This plays into the rest of the novel.
This is only one example. We find Biblical names and stories throughout literature: Ahab in Moby-Dick, Paradise Lost retelling the story of Adam and Eve, East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath referencing Biblical themes in their titles, "God's Favorite" retelling the story of Job, The Chronicles of Narnia being a Biblical allegory, Simon in Lord of the Flies relating to Jesus, the title Absalom, Absalom! and "Salome", and countless references to "The Prodigal Son", "Adam and Eve", "Creation", "Revelation", and "Sermon on the Mount"...the list could go on. And those are only some of the literary references, not delving into art and film.
It is clear that The Bible forms one of the basic texts of the English canon.
What I propose is that it is taught as literature: looked at in the same way we would study Greco-Roman, Norse, and Eastern mythology. Not read to judge, not read for religious indoctrination, and not read to attack the religions that follow the text. Read from a critical literary standpoint as we would any other text facing us as a class. Strip away the cultural noise and look at what the text actually says. Understand the issues facing us, as English readers, in the fact that we are reading a translation (and sometimes a translation of a translation). We do not have to investigate the evils done by Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, same as we don't have to study the evils perpetrated by the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Vikings, Chinese, Koreans, or anyone else's myths we read. It simply is not relevant.
There is no reason to study the religions that follow the text in an English classroom: It simply is not relevant. It is also not necessary to bring in other religious texts like the Koran, Talmud, or Satanic Bible, as these texts simply have not had the impact that the Bible has had upon English literature.
TL:DR, start here.
The Bible should be taught in the English classroom because it is an important text. It can provide new ways to explore literature. It should be handled in the same respectful way all texts are, and students should be free to interpret the text in their own way. This should go without saying, as that is how ALL literature should be taught. Simply put, the Bible is kinda important to the English canon, and we are not serving our students by pretending it is something that is somehow "off limits" within the classroom.
