Bye-bye Bible: Abbotsford School District won’t be handing out religious materials
Posted June 15, 2016 10:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) – Why did it take the Abbotsford School District until 2016 to stop handing out Bibles in public schools?
It received some complaints from moms and dads who weren’t comfortable with the idea.
We tried to get the district to do an on-air interview, but no one would do it — instead we were sent a short statement:
“Pursuant to your email and request below, please be advised that after having reviewed the procedures related to the distribution of materials to students, the district will no longer distribute the Gideon bible or other religious materials to students. ”
Ian Bushfield with the BC Humanist Association describes it as an established policy that was never challenged.
He says some parents came forward to say they were concerned.
“It’s a small town so I can understand the hesitation of people to speak out. And I know the Fraser Valley tends to be a little bit more religious, but there is still an increasing diversity of viewpoints there and I guess people are starting to challenge those.”
The association took that and put it in writing to the district back in March.
“We want to make sure everyone feels welcome in their schools and in their communities and our public schools reflect the diversity of those communities.”
The policy was to hand out Bibles to grade 5 students.
A few years ago, the association took the same stand and had bibles removed out of classrooms in Chilliwack.
