If enacted, the bill would ban schools from teaching students younger than 10th grade about Islam or other topics the state decides constitute “religious doctrine”.
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According to reports, the proposal from Representative Sheila Butt of Columbia would prohibit the teaching of anything deemed religious doctrine unless the course is taught in 10th, 11th or 12th grade. The bill doesn’t outline the term, however specifies in that in highschool it may possibly exclusively be included in a comparative faith course in that does not focus on one specific religion. Students in Tennessee middle schools reportedly learn about world religions in history class, and the teachings include the Five Pillars of Islam. Butt later asserted that the “w” stood for “Western”, not “white”.
“It is interesting that CAIR would comment on my bill since the legislation never even mentions a particular religion, but instead explicitly states that no religion shall be emphasized or focused on over any other”, Butt said in a prepared statement. U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., has argued that the teachings border on indoctrination. “As a result, it comes as no surprise that Tennessee parents & citizens are upset to learn that Tennessee students are being forced to spend upwards of three weeks learning about Islam in their local public schools”, state Rep. Andy Holt (R) wrote in a September blog post. “But until there is a section on India referred to as ‘The Hindu World, ‘ I do not believe this favoritism toward Islam should be allowed to continue to exist”, Goins said in a statement to The Tennessean.
“Islamophobes like Rep. Butt fail to recognize that there is a big difference between teaching students about religion as an important part of world history and promoting particular religious beliefs”, the group’s government affairs manager, Robert McCaw, said in a statement. She also insisted that the measure does not target Islam.
Butt, a longtime Sunday school teacher, said her bill isn’t specifically aimed at Islam and that it wouldn’t ban mentioning any religion at the middle school level.
Tennessee law now says that the Bible can be taught in schools, as long as schools aren’t using it to teach “religious doctrine or sectarian interpretation”.
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Tennessee education officials and teachers recently argued courses were appropriate and based on secular fact during a discussion of the curriculum with The Tennessean.
