Which book is banned most in America these days? Some noxious pornography? A dangerous how-to? Perhaps something so hateful that librarians can’t bear to have it on their shelves – such as Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf?
No, according to the American Library Association’s latest “State of America’s Libraries” report, The Holy Bible was ranked as the sixth most challenged book in America.
What’s alarming is that this is the first time the Scriptures have made the annual ALA top-10 list. But, it is increasingly common for librarians to have to defend keeping the Bible on their shelves – against the protests of militant atheists, over-reaching bureaucrats and the politically correct anxious not to offend.
“The top 10 most challenged books for 2015 includes an entry that may seem unlikely for the United States, which is home to more Christians than any other country in the world,” reports Carol Kuruvilla, associate religion editor for the Huffington Post.
The library association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has been collecting data about books that have either been challenged or banned from American schools or libraries since 1990. James LaRue, OIF’s director, told Kuruvilla that the Bible pops up regularly on the organization’s annual challenged books list, but that it has never before ended up in the top 10.
According to the ALA site, the bible is in the 6th placed of the frequently challenged books
Ryan Cragun, a sociologist at The University of Tampa, shrugged off the Bible’s appearance on the top 10 list. He suggested that the “privileging of religion in American society” could be the problem. What does that mean? That Christians have enjoyed privileges that now should be denied them?
Sources:
http://godsnotdead.com/blog/believe-banned-book/
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
Is this true?
