Livingston County
Atheist leader admits misinformation
Council's curriculum on Bible study was not deemed unconstitutional in 4 states, director says.
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
HOWELL -- The leader of an atheists' group opposing a proposal to bring a Bible study curriculum into Howell schools acknowledged Friday that she spread misinformation about the legality of the plan.
The leader, whose legal name is Arlene-Marie, state director of the Michigan Atheists, said she erred when she claimed in a letter to Howell schools that the curriculum of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools had been found to be unconstitutional in four states. The council's curriculum has never been found to be unconstitutional.
"I misspoke. I should have been more careful," Arlene-Marie said.
The admission comes as the Howell Board of Education is to discuss using a course designed by the council as an elective. It would focus on the Bible as literature and from an historical perspective. The board meets at 7 p.m. Monday at Latson Elementary School.
"We have never received one complaint from one school district in our 13 years," said Elizabeth Ridenour, president and founder of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Greensboro, N.C. "We don't pick the districts that want the curriculum, they come to us."
She said the Bible course curriculum has been voted into 373 school districts in 37 states, including Michigan.
Frankenmuth Schools voted against adding the Bible curriculum last year. Other school districts in the state teach the Bible using the group's curriculum, but Ridenour declined to disclose which ones, citing a privacy clause.
In addition to the Michigan Atheists, Hal Downs, president of the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State is expected to voice objections to a proposal being reviewed by the district's curriculum review board.
Tim Thatcher, a parent of a seventh-grade student at Highlander Way Middle School, proposed using the course designed by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.
