Utah parent calls Bible 'porn' in wake of ban on sexually explicit books
WASHINGTON (TND) — A parent in Utah wants The Holy Bible banned at Davis High School, calling it “one of the most sex-ridden books around," according to a report.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the parent, who was not identified, submitted a request to the school district in Davis County to have the Bible removed from shelves in the Farmington school.
The Tribune obtained a copy of the parent's8-page petition, which was reportedly filed in December.
The parent described the Bible as pornography and cited legislation that prohibits certain "sensitive" books in public schools, saying the Bible fits into this category because it contains "incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide."
The request included multiple versus from the Bible.
You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition," The Tribune said the parent wrote in the request. "Get this PORN out of our schools! If the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a slam dunk."
The bill was approved in May 2022. Utah state Rep. Ken Ivory, a Republican who represents West Jordan, sponsored the bill.
The Tribune noted that Ivory said the request to ban the Bible is "very sad" and unfortunate.
There was a purpose to the bill and this kind of stuff, it’s very unfortunate,” he said. “There are any number of studies that directly link sexualization and hyper-sexualization with sexual exploitation and abuse. Certainly, those are things we don’t want in schools."
He also addressed the issue on his Facebook account.
So sad," he wrote. "Some seek to poke fun at the very real harm caused by hyper sexualized materials at schools. (Too) bad they don’t channel this energy to helping us make schools safer for all children."
Utah Parents United criticized the parent's request and called it a "political stunt."
Utah Parents United, as well as Ivory, said the request puts a strain on school resources.
"We take book challenges seriously," according to a Facebook post. "We recognize challenges take resources and time away from teaching. If we do not believe a book violates the law we don’t waste the time of teachers and parents by challenging it.
As of March 24, Sensitive Material Review Committees were in the process of reviewing 32 books, including the Bible, in the Davis County School District.
Sensitive Material Review Committees have retained 16 of those books so far, removed 33 others and are in the process of reviewing 32 — including the Bible.
Since library materials differ widely, the time required to complete the review process will differ depending on the material," a district spokesperson told KUTV. "Ideally, the committee's facilitator will establish a timeline which will allow for completion of the review process within 60 days of the review request. If a 60-day timeline will not be possible, or if the school year will expire before the review process can be completed, the facilitator will communicate the adjusted timeline to the person submitting the request."
Attempts to ban and restrict books at schools and public libraries set a new record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association.
The group noted that more than 2,500 different books were objected to, adding that there were nearly 1,300 demands to censor library books in 2022, versus 729 challenges in 2021.
The association said most of the books in question are about members of the LGBTQ+ community and people of color. Some books have been targeted due to racist language, while others include graphic images.
The Guinness World Records notes that as of 1995, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time. with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: KUTV and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
