DLNews Religion:

Salt Lake City - In Utah, one of the most conservative U.S. states, a district is banning the Bible from elementary and middle schools in the future - because of "offensive and violent content."

Several U.S. media reported that the ban takes effect immediately in Davis County (located north of Salt Lake City) on Friday.

Background: a 2022 state law allows books and movies with "pornographic and indecent content" to be banned in schools.

The committee charged with checking the Bible concluded that the book did not violate the law. Nevertheless, the decision was made to restrict access to high school-age students.

A complaint from parents about the new law preceded the decision. "Now we can ban all books and not even have to read them," the Dec. 11 letter, obtained by " The Salt Lake Tribune" newspaper, said.

The list of books banned so far still lacks one; the letter continues the Bible, "one of the most sexually charged books ever." It contains inappropriate content such as "incest, masturbation, sexual acts with animals, prostitution, genital mutilation, oral sex, dildos, rape, and even infanticide." The ban has now been complied with - probably against the wishes of the letter's authors.

Utah is not the only U.S. state to ban specific topics from the school curriculum. In Florida, the governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis want to ban school instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for all ages. Such education is already forbidden from kindergarten through third grade. The ban stems from a 2022 law that opponents call "Don't Say, Gay."