A bill in the West Virginia Senate, if passed, would require the display of the Aitken Bible in some public and charter school classrooms. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Last year, the West Virginia Legislature passed one Law to require public schools and charter schools public colleges and universities to display a “durable poster or framed copy of the U.S. motto “In God We Trust.”
They took advantage of the fact that it is the motto of the United States to put it in schools, but their intent was actually to blur the line between church and state.
Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, had supported the bill for three years in a row until it passed last year. He said he wanted to “glorify God for this bill. … If America stays with this motto in our hearts and West Virginia stays with this motto in our hearts, we will be fine.”
Now Senate Republicans have introduced a bill that would require a Robert Aitken Bible in all 4th, 8th and 10th grade social studies classes in public and charter schools.
Senate Bill 388 is sponsored by Sens. Amy Grady, R-Mason; Darren Thorne, R-Hampshire; Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier; Craig A. Hart, R-Mingo; Rollan A. Roberts, R-Raleigh; T. Kevan Bartlett, R-Kanawha; and Eric Tarr, R-Putnam. The bill states that “no public funds may be used for this purpose” and that schools can accept private donations and apply them to purchase the Aitken Bible, which is available at retail stores more than $200.
The bill doesn’t explain why they specifically want the Aitken Bible, so I looked at it.
Across the country, there is a movement of Christian nationalists who want to apply the Aitken Bible – the first English-language translation of the Bible, printed in the United States in 1782 – to end the separation of church and state.
Aitken’s Bible was the only edition of the Bible ever approved by Congress – but that was not because of the founding fathers’ spiritual beliefs.
The Continental Congress endorsed it because the publication of Aitken’s Bible aimed to highlight “the country’s burgeoning cultural identity separate from that of Great Britain.” accordingly Library of Congress Librarian Marianna Stell.
The Aitken Bible was considered a flop. Editor Robert Aitken wrote a letter To George Washington, he said that he lost money printing his Bible because people continued to buy low-cost imported Bibles after the Revolutionary War.
Aitken asked Congress to provide him with money to print his Bible and purchase copies – which he did neither. He also asked Congress to grant him the exclusive right to publish the Bible for the next 14 years – Congress also refused.
There was also false claims that the Aitken Bible was called the “Bible of the Revolution” and that US soldiers carried it into battle against the British.
Because Congress endorsed the Aitken Bible years before the First Amendment was passed, some people – including Christian nationalists – cite this as a reason the First Amendment does not provide for it Separation of church and state.
A 1962 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found that school-sponsored prayers violated the First Amendment Establishment Clause, which states that the government may not establish religion or favor one religion over another.
Constitutional scholars point out, and the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed, that the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause do in fact establish a separation of church and state. Even Thomas Jefferson wrote in an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association: wrote that when the American people adopted the Establishment Clause, they erected a “wall of separation between church and state.”
These Christian nationalist groups presented copies of the Aitken Bible to politicians in Tennessee before lawmakers there designated them as one of the first in Tennessee official state books. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that all of West Virginia’s lawmakers and Supreme Court justices also received copies with their names on them last week.
Stephen Skelton is the founder of the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation and the First American Bible Project. He said the group wants to make the Bible available to schools and legislators as a historical resource — but he has also used the Aitken Bible as a backup skepticism about the separation of church and state.
“How could our founding fathers have believed in separation of church and state if I had a Congress-approved Bible?” Skelton said in video clips posted to First American Bible Project’s social media. “There needs to be a reconciliation between these two arguments.”
Ryan Jayne, senior policy advisor at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said USA today that while the Tennessee law is “largely symbolic in nature,” he believes it “violates the spirit of the First Amendment and also the Tennessee State Constitution, which states that no preference shall be given to any religious establishment or form of worship.”
“I think there is an intention to favor Christianity, but they are trying to put this in a historical context,” Jayne said. “…They wanted to include (this book) to try to follow the myth that the founders wanted to create a Christian country.”
Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said USA Today that promoting the Aitken Bible as a state book “undoubtedly” violates the First Amendment.
“It doesn’t matter whether the Bible is one of 10 or the only official government book,” Laser said. “It’s still a blatant violation of the separation of church and state because it attributes government favor to one religion and favors one religious belief – and frankly even a type of belief system within Christianity because not everyone uses that Bible. That’s a violation of federal and state constitutional religious freedom protections.”
The Senate Education Committee approved SB 388and sends it to the full Senate for consideration. It’s still in its early stages and may not catch on, but remember last year lawmakers put up posters in schools that read, “In God We Trust.” They will continue to try to pass these laws that may not seem like a huge deal, but these laws will add up until there is no separation of church and state in West Virginia public schools.
