The Bible and Its Influence is a textbook

Textbook

A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...

 first published in 2005 to facilitate teaching about the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 public high schools. Its publishers, the Bible Literacy Project, say the textbook allows schools to study the Bible academically while fully respecting the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment

Establishment Clause of the First Amendment

The Establishment Clause is the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating, Together with the Free Exercise Clause The Establishment Clause is the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,...

. It is designed for teaching either a semester course or a full-year course on the literary and historical influence of the Bible.

The development took over five years, at a cost of $2 million, with contributions from 40 evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and secular

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

 experts.

Use in public schools

As of September 2010, the Bible Literacy Project reports that the textbook has been adopted by 470 schools in 43 states, with more than 100 schools in Texas teaching Bible literacy courses. On October 11, 2007, The Bible and Its Influence was designated by the Alabama State Board of Education

Alabama State Board of Education

The Alabama State Board of Education is a nine-member body which authorizes the education policy for the state of Alabama. The governor is the ex officio president of the board. The remaining eight members are elected from single-member districts for four-year terms with no limit on the number of...

 as an approved textbook statewide. This designation allows schools throughout the state to purchase the curriculum with state funds.

Media commentary

The Bible and Its Influence has received extensive press coverage. The cover story of TIME

Time

Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

on April 2, 2007, described the rising trend in Bible courses in public schools nationwide. TIME senior religion editor David Van Biema stated, "[Public school Bible electives] should have a strong accompanying textbook on the model of The Bible and Its Influence, but one that is willing to deal a bit more bluntly with the historical warts."

In May 2007, The Bible and Its Influence was also featured in Education Week

Education Week

Education Week is a United States national newspaper covering K-12 education. It is published by Editorial Projects in Education , a non-profit organization, which is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland...

and on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Today show. The New York State School Boards Association

New York State School Boards Association

The New York State School Boards Association serves as the statewide voice of more than 700 boards of education. The collective influence of some 5,000 school board members, who constitute half the elected officials in the state, enables NYSSBA to work toward the benefit of the elementary and...

's On Board magazine also had favorable coverage of The Bible and Its Influence, calling it "a remarkable textbook" in a July 31, 2006, review.

External links

• Bible Literacy Project page on their textbook
• Interfaith coalition unveils public school Bible course, CNN
  CNN
  Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
  
  
• "Bible textbook could circumvent culture war," Kansas City Star
• "Textbook on Bible aimed at public school classrooms," Scripps Howard News Service, September 21, 2005.