Three Mississippi lawmakers are pushing to declare the Bible the state book. Rep. Tracy Arnold proposed a bill in the House and Reps. Tom Miles and Michael Evans proposed a bill in the Senate.
According to Christian News Network, a recent survey named Mississippi the most religious state with 59 percent of citizens calling themselves religious.
Evans told AL.com, “Me and my constituents, we were talking about it and one of them made a comment that people ought to start reading the Bible.”
“The Bible provides a good role model on how to treat people. They could read in there about love and compassion,” Miles told the Associated Press.
The legislation has been met with a mixture of praise and criticism. Jimmie Gates who writes for the Clarion Ledger said that Mississippi has more “pressing issues.”
“It may be a worthy idea that people want the good book as the state official book, but wouldn’t it be better for our legislators to leave the book of religion to religion? It’s sort of like someone wanting to dictate their religion to others,” Ledger wrote.
Publication date: January 19, 2015