Although the ACLU has declared the practice unconstitutional, the Bible is being used as a textbook in classes taught in 300 school districts nationwide, according to a curriculum provider.
About 1,000 high schools in 35 states are using material produced by the North Carolina-based National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools in classes during regular school hours.
The U.S. Supreme Court consistently has upheld the teaching of the Bible as literature, as long as it is not employed for devotional purposes or indoctrination.
The organization's elective class, "The Bible in History and Literature," examines many aspects you wouldn't expect to find in a Sunday School class, Ridenour said, such as how the Bible influenced America's founding fathers, art, music and literature, including Shakespeare.
The NCBCPS, which has been working with school districts since 1994, says it's "amazed at the snowball effect that is taking place across America" as more districts adopt the material.
The organization points to statistics indicating many Americans agree their children's education is deficient.
The evangelical Christian researcher Barna Group said, according to a study this year, 50 percent of Americans agree that children are not well prepared for life intellectually, and 75 percent of adults say children are not prepared morally.
The NCBCPS sees an indication of the Bible's impact in oft-cited statistics showing dramatic increases in unwed pregnancies, cases of sexually transmitted diseases, violent behavior and other social factors since the Bible largely was removed from classrooms in 1963.
NCBCPS also has been invited to promote its materials for the next two years with The Dead Sea Scrolls To America Exhibit touring the country.
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