May 1, 4:28 PM EDT

*Ga. Schools Cautious on Bible Classes*

By DOUG GROSS
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia's public schools walk a delicate line as they
decide whether to offer the nation's first state-funded Bible classes -
measuring the difference between preaching and teaching with the
likelihood of costly lawsuits looming for those that miss the mark.

The state school board approved curriculum in March for teaching the
Bible in Georgia's high schools, but there hasn't been a rush of schools
to start up the classes. Only a handful of the state's 180 school
districts have agreed to offer the elective classes so far.

"It has been a very thoughtful, healthy process," said Robin Pennock,
deputy schools superintendent of Muscogee County, where the school board
decided to offer the Old Testament and New Testament classes next fall.
"Most people do realize that this is an area that many people can feel
very passionate about."

It's difficult to confirm how many school boards have adopted or are
considering the classes. However, Muscogee - which borders Alabama and
includes the city of Columbus and the Army's Fort Benning - is one of
the state's largest districts to have done so.

"It's important to understand religion; it's something we've gotten too
far away from," said Jan Pease, whose 15-year-old daughter attends
Northside High School in Columbus.

The Bible already is incorporated into comparative religion and other
public school classes in many states, but those classes are funded by
the local districts, not with money from state government.

The Georgia law allowing the state-funded Bible classes won overwhelming
approval last year from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. The
classes must be taught "in an objective and nondevotional manner with no
attempt made to indoctrinate students."

Lawmakers in Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas have considered
similar plans this year, although none has received final approval. One
proposal in Texas would require all high school students to take a Bible
class.

Supporters say fully understanding history, literature and political
science - from the writings of Martin Luther King Jr. to the war in Iraq
- requires knowledge of the Bible.

"I don't think you can understand Shakespeare, that you can understand a
great deal of literary allusions or that you can understand a great deal
of Western civilization without understanding the role of the Bible,"
said Pennock, a former Western civilization teacher.

The Rev. Charles Hasty, of First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, said
he hopes exposure to the Bible's teachings may lead some students to
seek out a more spiritual approach in their lives.

"It's going to challenge the faith of some students and it may foster
the faith of others," Hasty said.

Critics fear the classes could easily turn into endorsements of
Christianity.

"Georgia has set teachers up for failure," said Charles Haynes, of the
First Amendment Center, a Washington D.C.-based civil liberties group.
"The chances of it being unconstitutional are pretty big and the
pitfalls are huge."

His group supports religious discussions and study of the Bible in
public schools, but Haynes says Georgia's law fails to give enough
guidance to teachers on the difference between academic study and
spiritual teaching.

No additional training for teachers is required, although Barrow and
Muscogee counties, which both will offer the classes, plan to give
teachers an online course and other special preparation.

Haynes said the lack of direction in state law makes schools vulnerable
to lawsuits if students feel religion is being endorsed.

"People are going to sue," he said. "That's why the Legislature should
have been more responsible about putting school boards in situations
where they might have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, split
their communities and end up in a courtroom."

The First Amendment Center and Georgia's branch of the American Civil
Liberties Union both say they plan to monitor how the classes are taught.

Concern about violating the separation of church and state is a reason
why some of Georgia's largest districts have steered clear of the
classes so far.

"We have to be very careful with that," said Joe Buck, chairman of the
Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education. His school system has made
no move yet to consider the classes.

Pease, a Christian, said she'd support schools teaching comparative
religion classes, including those that studied the holy books of other
major faiths like Islam's Quran.

"I don't think any particular religion needs to be pushed on anyone,"
she said. "But I do think it's important to teach about them."

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On the Net:

The Bible and Its Influence textbook: http://www.bibleliteracy.org