Teaching the Bible in a tax supported public institution, while excluding the teaching of all other religions, is a violation of both the first and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Thomas Jefferson further elaborated on the strict separation of church and State.Throughout the years the Supreme Court has consistently upheld this position.
To place the teaching of one particular religion in a social studies curriculum is ludicrous since their social studies curriculum should contain the teaching of the U.S. Constitution.
Cape school board approval of this will unavoidably give the students the impression that the state is sanctioning the teaching of the Christian religion, or if the student is already grounded in studies of the U.S. Constitution, it will, at the very least, cause confusion.
The quote in the May 23 issue of the Cape Gazette "Cape was offered a discount on the cost if the district makes a decision soon." This sounds like a pitch from a snake oil salesman and any board member naive enough to fall for this should not be on the Cape board.
If the board proceeds with this, it is asking for a lawsuit and probably will get one, because the children need protection from this bizarre suggestion.
Ann Nolan
Lewes