A Huntington Beach attorney who credits the Bible with helping him become an honor student is pushing for a state ballot measure to put the Scriptures in the hands of public school students as a literary text.
Matt McLaughlin received approval last week from the secretary of state's office to begin gathering signatures for the King James Bible as Textbook initiative, which would amend the Constitution to allow teachers to use the Bible in literature classes.
"Even if you don't believe its teachings, you'll agree that it includes rich usage of the English language," he said.
"That's what makes it good literature."
But critics worry that separating the literary and doctrinal aspects will prove problematic.
Federal courts permit the discussion of religious texts in public classrooms, as long as it is not used to promote religion. McLaughlin's proposal differs in that it would require school districts to make Bibles available to participating students in grades one through 12 as part of a literature curriculum.
Under the proposal, classroom Bible reading would still be voluntary, and students could substitute another text, said McLaughlin.
Officials estimated that buying Bibles for students statewide would cost up to $200 million.
In order to qualify the measure for the November ballot, McLaughlin and his supporters must obtain 598,105 valid signatures by May 24, according to the secretary of state's office. The number represents 8% of the votes cast in the 2002 gubernatorial election.
McLaughlin may need to gather 1 million signatures to make sure enough signers are registered voters -- a daunting task since as of Friday he had only six friends passing out petitions.
He was able to launch the drive after state officials, among other requirements, approved the text of the proposed law and determined the financial impact.
His campaign, McLaughlin said, is not backed by any church or political organization.
"It's a real grass-roots effort. Our website is up, and we've received several e-mails in support and some in opposition," said McLaughlin, 34.
"One person offered to contribute $10. It's the only money we've been offered, but it's a start."
McLaughlin said he has read the Bible almost every day since the first grade and considers it both inspirational and great literature.
"It enriched my learning," he said. "I grew up reading the Bible with my parents and sister. The cultural and literacy lessons we learned from it had an impact on us."
