MAIL ONLINE: The Prime Minister will send every school in Britain a copy of the King James Bible – complete with a foreword by the Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Mr Gove said the Bible was the most ‘important book written in the English language’ and had major cultural and historical significance.
But the move is highly controversial with non-religious groups condemning it as an unacceptable waste of public money.
Critics also mocked the project on Twitter with former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott describing it as Mr Gove’s ‘vanity project’.
The Department for Education confirmed that the Bibles will be sent out to over 20,000 schools to mark the 400th anniversary of it[s] translation.
Supporters said the book will help school pupils of all faiths to take pride in the history and culture of Britain.
Government ministers have always been careful to avoid controversies surrounding religion with Tony Blair’s former communications chief Alastair Campbell famously once declaring: ‘We don’t do God’.
But Mr Gove said: ‘It‘s a thing of beauty, and it‘s also an incredibly important historical artefact. It has helped shape and define the English language and is one of the keystones of our shared culture. And it is a work that has had international significance’. Continue reading and comment » | Kirsty Walker | Saturday, November 26, 2011
