April 12, 2016
Americans are increasingly objecting to the Holy Bible, according to a recent report by the American Library Association, reports the Guardian.
While the Scriptures have never made the ALA’s list before, it appears in the sixth slot on the list of most challenged books of 2015, with many objecting to its presence in public and school libraries.
James La Rue, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, told the Associated Press that its inclusion was due to “people who feel that if a school library buys a copy of the Bible, it’s a violation of church and state. And sometimes there’s a retaliatory action, where a religious group has objected to a book and a parent might respond by objecting to the Bible.”
In line with disturbing trends in American society, the Bible is being lumped in with other books that use offensive language, openly promote sexual perversion and promiscuity, such as the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey which appears this year in second place.
The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom defines a challenge as “a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.” This year 275 challenges were registered, down from 311 in 2014 and 464 in 2012. The majority of complaints over the past decade have been lodged by parents over “sexually explicit” material.
