Chatt TFP: TN Legislator proposes statute to test First Amendment Establishment clause in schools
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Integrated Bible curriculum, vocal school prayer proposed for Tennessee schools
10 hours, 38 minutes ago by Kailee Shores
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Tennessee state Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, recites the Pledge of Allegiance on the House floor. He has proposed legislation facilitating prayer in schools. (AP File Photo/George Walker IV)
A bill that would introduce voluntary vocal prayer and Bible reading into public schools appeared in front of a Tennessee House of Representatives subcommittee Wednesday.
The legislation would also require schools to include the Bible as literature and the moral and ethical teachings of the Old and New Testament in curriculum.
State Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, said bringing voluntary prayer back into public schools would increase the quality of education for students.
"When the Supreme Court, in 1962, effectively threw prayer out of school in its Engel v. Vitale decision, it made it impossible for academic and religious formation of kids to be occurring at the same time," Bulso said in a phone interview. "Now, with the more recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents that we have, we have the opportunity to allow voluntary prayer in school so that we can both meld the spiritual formation and the academic formation of our school children."
The House Civil Justice Subcommittee recommended the bill for passage to the Judiciary Committee with one dissenting vote, from state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville.
If passed, the bill would require public schools and public charter schools to teach all students the Bible as literature, along with the history of Israel, the morals provided by the stories of the text, the life of Jesus, the history of the church and the influences of the Bible on Western culture, according to the text of the bill.
Students could opt out of the instruction if their parents provide a written request, or — if the student is 18 or older — the student makes their own written request.
The language of the bill clarified that the Bible and related instruction would not be taught as religious dogma. Aleta Ledendecker, president of the East Tennessee chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said that including moral and ethical teachings is teaching the dogma of the Bible.
"This is a religious move. This is in order to get that sense of Christianity, Christian practices into the school," Ledendecker said. "This is not even a veiled attempt at trying to force Christianity onto all the students in Tennessee — this is just an overt attempt."
Currently, 42 Tennessee school districts, including Hamilton County, offer elective courses that study the Bible through an academic lens, according to a list maintained by the Tennessee Department of Education. The classes have outside funding.
The bill would provide students and employees with a time for vocal prayer and reading the Bible or other religious text, upon the submission of a signed consent form.
The prayer and reading would occur out of earshot of all students and employees who do not explicitly consent, according to the bill. The bill does not spell out the logistics of keeping students who do not consent out of earshot, but Bulso said he imagined it would operate similarly to when parents opt their children out of family life curriculum.
Bulso said the prayer time that the bill would introduce would occur outside of instructional time.
There is already a moment of silence in schools that allows faculty, staff and students to pray or reflect in whichever manner they choose. Bulso said going beyond a moment of silence and allowing students to pray out loud with faculty and staff who have consented has its benefits.
"We had prayer in schools from the founding of the country all the way up until 1962, and we built a beautiful, wonderful country," Bulso said. "Since prayers have been removed from schools, I think you can see the social decline that we've had."
Bulso cited the abortion rate, a falling marriage rate and an increased divorce rate, saying such social ills did not exist when children were permitted to pray in school.
The bill is titled the Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act. Ledendecker said it does the exact opposite, instead eliminating the freedom to worship or not to worship at all.
"At least 30% of the population is not Christian," Ledendecker said. "We're talking a huge swath of our population, and this bill is designed to force them into compliance of being part of a practice that should take place on Sundays."
Contact religion reporter Kailee Shores at ksh...@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.
Kailee Shores covers religion for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She joined the newsroom as a breaking news reporter in January 2025. She holds a degree in journalism from Middle Tennessee State University.