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Over the course of the meteoric rise in contemporary book censorship in the last several years, we have seen a lot of assumptions about the who and what behind the censorship. We know that far-right Christian extremism is a major thrust. But too often, the assumption is that all people of Christian faith are seeking out books they deem “inappropriate” to censor them. This is patently false. We know from research that most people disagree with book banning. By extension, that also means most people of faith disagree with it as well.
Likewise, quippy retorts that people should ban the Bible because it doesn’t meet the standards of “appropriate” do more harm than good. Excitement over the instances where the Bible has been banned, however temporarily, says more about the person cheering’s biases than it does about their commitment to ending censorship. We don’t solve book bans by banning books, but we also don’t court the allyship of people of faith who want to ensure democratic institutions like libraries and public schools survive.
Faith is not what’s at the center of book censorship. It’s extremism and authoritarianism. Book censorship and the dismantling of public goods threaten religious freedom, not protect it.
Today, I’m excited to have a guest piece from Reverend Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talking about the ways in which people of faith are engaged—and can be further engaged—against book censorship. Reverend Raushenbush is the President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, an organization dedicated to protecting the integrity of *both* faith and democracy in America. He has been a champion for intellectual freedom, encouraging people to show up for their public libraries and schools to ensure their longterm existence.
*
To Defend Religious Freedom from the Trump Administration, We Need to Fight Book Bans
Last summer, I found myself on a stage in front of hundreds of librarians. We have inherited a stereotype of the librarian who is constantly hushing others as they protect their sanctuary of books from disruption of any kind. However, this gathering was far from that stereotype. In fact, these librarians were there to be loud and do some disrupting themselves. The reason for this? We were at the Unite Against Book Ban rally as part of the national gathering of the American Library Association to stand up to book bans and defend the right to read
As I was introduced, there were some surprised looks—what is a Baptist preacher and religious activist doing at their rally? They had every right to wonder and even to be concerned. Unfortunately, too many librarians have been targeted in recent years, often by people who used their religion as a free pass to harass and target librarians. However, I was there with another message—and so I began:
I’m here because at the root of all faith traditions are words and the stories they tell. Words spark our imagination and cast a vision for worlds seen and yet to be seen, present, and yet to be realized. Words are the conduit to the sacred. The freedom to read is the foundation of the freedom of belief.
We are in a critical moment in our nation and public schools and public libraries are at the front lines of the battle. Well-funded and well-organized groups use a developed playbook filled with misinformation and misrepresentation as well as bullying and name-calling with the aim to erode public confidence and trust in libraries and librarians. As mentioned, this is often done in the name of religion. A loud minority of Christians, often fueled by a White Christian Nationalist agenda, support book bans to police access to information and limit storytelling that does not align with their ideology and message.
In many cases, the books that are banned deal with uncomfortable topics like racism, poverty, mental illness, and the struggles of marginalized communities. These books tell stories that document real experiences. By banning them, we risk erasing those experiences and denying future generations the opportunity to learn from them. Whether it’s a novel about racism or a memoir about sexual identity, literature allows us to step into the shoes of others and develop empathy. When we remove those books, we lose empathy.
Now, in a move that suggests the need for Orwell’s 1984 on every shelf, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education has decided to dismiss complaints by students and parents about banning books that reference the experience of LGBTQ and people of color on the grounds that—wait for it—the banning of books is not real. The American Library Association responded with a statement that says in part:
Book bans are real. Ask students who cannot access literary classics required for college or parents whose children can’t check out a book about gay penguins at their school library. Ask school librarians who have lost their jobs for protecting the freedom to read. While a parent has the right to guide their own children’s reading, their beliefs and prejudices should not dictate what another parent chooses for their own children.
Banning books while simultaneously denying that action hits home in multiple ways. First, don’t lie to me. As a Baptist minister, married to another man, and with our two children in public school, I see the removal of books that represent our family as deeply unsettling. I don’t care what you call it—if you are removing books and restricting my kids’ right to read, you are banning books. Arguments that claim bans are driven by religious beliefs to ‘protect the kids’ are bogus. Your religious beliefs don’t trump mine or any other parent or kid.
For religious communities, this should be a wake-up call. We need to make fighting book bans a priority right now. Books that center religious minorities in America are often targeted with books with Muslim and Jewish characters, including The Diary of Anne Frank and others being taken off the shelves. Some religious communities have already joined the fight. The Episcopal Church passed a resolution stating that book bans harm the Beloved Community. We need more religious groups to follow suit.
Where can you start? Interfaith Alliance worked with Unite Against Book Bans to create Banned Books, Banned Beliefs playbook for faith communities to speak out and show up for libraries and librarians have a religion strategy to push back against Christian nationalists and others who would dictate to the wider community what stories are acceptable. With the Department of Education facing intensive funding cuts and even possible dissolution at the hands of President Trump and Elon Musk, defending the right to read and learn is more important than ever.
The fact is that the majority of religious people do not support book bans and understand it as a threat to our communities and to religious freedom. Book bans are real and a growing threat. Faith groups must fight back against book bans everywhere before the diverse stories that make up the tapestry of the religious landscape of America are shredded and banned as well.
The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. An ordained Baptist minister, Raushenbush is a longtime leader in the interfaith movement working to protect an inclusive vision of religious freedom for people of all faiths and beliefs.
Book Censorship News: February 14, 2025
- Coeur d’Alene Public Schools (ID) just pulled 150 books from shelves “for review” with the Idaho book banning law. This removal is a book ban, fwiw.
- 32 books were banned in Rutherford County Public Schools (TN). The school board did not vote in favor of banning DEI in the district though.
- Here’s everything known so far about the Iowa book ban law and what it actually entails (as well as why it took so long to know anything about it, which we know is “because lawsuit”).
- New Mexico aims to pass an anti-book ban law this year. Here’s a nice piece from their NPR affiliate about it.
- Ontario’s Ottawa Public Library saw an increase in book challenges last year but denied every one of them.
- While we’re in Canada, here’s the shadow war being waged on libraries throughout the country.
- Huntington Beach City Council (CA) doesn’t plan to follow the anti-book ban law once signed in the state.
- Blount County Schools (TN) are currently battling over whether or not to ban A Stolen Life. The thing that’s most interesting in the article is this: “School principal Derek Crabtree and Young worked to put together a program using ChatGPT that would allow school librarians to screen thousands of books at a time. Crabtree said that after feeding the AI system the state laws on library materials, as well as board policy and library guidelines, the program can flag books that may be in violation or need further review.” That’s intellectually lazy, it’s pro-censorship, and it’s pretty much exactly what Mason City Schools (IA) did a couple of years ago. Students would be flunked for using AI. The school is in a crummy position because of the laws, but this isn’t it.
- Seaside School District (OR) is still debating whether or not to ban The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian after two parental complaints. The review committee proposed keeping the book as is. (We’ll see how long this lasts). Recall Seaside, Oregon, is where one of the city council members was trying to ban books in the public library, too.
- Two new people were brought onto the St. Tammany Parish Public Library (LA) board. They have polar opposite views on book banning, so the battle here is far, FAR from over.
- A look at the group responsible for creating book ban nonsense in Botetourt County Libraries (VA). The rise of anti-intellectualism and pro-book banning as discussed in the piece is what has been happening nationwide, at the local level, since 2021.
- Massachusetts has a bill in the legislature this year that would encourage book bans under the guise of “appropriateness.” Write and call your reps, folks.
- Let’s head back to Campbell County Public Library (WY), who has been at the forefront of book banning since the start of this current wave. The most recent update is their tabling of creating a “new adult” section where they’d put YA books they don’t like. Those YA books are now just in the adult section. This still constitutes book censorship, as it’s a relocation and meant to hinder access to the materials. The last board meeting saw folks showing up to speak out against these decisions again.
- This story is paywalled for me, but the controversial book banning policy proposed in Pine-Richland School District (PA) is moving forward.
- Colorado’s anti-book ban bill applicable in school libraries has cleared its first hurdle.
- “The New Hampshire Department of Education has told school leaders they should review their district’s diversity and equity programs to ensure they comply with President Donald Trump’s recent mandates” YIKES.
- Here are four new books banned in Davis Public Schools (UT). Recall Davis is one of the schools responsible for the bulk of books banned statewide in Utah.
- Internationally, Israeli police raided two Palestinian-owned bookstores in East Jerusalem. The charge? There were pro-Palestinian books in the shops.
- In the Summerland branch of the Okanagan Regional Library (British Columbia, Canada), Sex Is A Funny Word keeps “disappearing” from shelves.
- Penfield School Board (NY) heard complaints over the children’s picture book The Rainbow Parade at the latest school board meeting. This particular story tells a bit about one of the racist tactics used to intimidate the board. These people think they deserve the right to decide what kids can and cannot read and that their voice is more important than those who are professionals.
- A bill proposed in Idaho would grant city council members to fire the library director at the library. This is…not the role of city council, to begin with, though it IS the role of the library board. The bill came out of a personal beef.
- Colorado’s Elizabeth School District returned 19 books they banned from the district. Here’s the catch—those 19 books are not available to most people in the school. Only the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit about the books being banned can access them.
- “A Moms for Liberty official took aim during Tuesday’s Volusia County School Board meeting at two high schools’ social media posts celebrating books she claimed were ‘illegal’ and labeling staff as ‘groomers.’” The books included The Kite Runner.
- One parent in North Gibson School Corporation (IN) wanted to get the book Ready Player One banned. Upon review, the review committee elected to keep it, but the parent has since appealed the decision, so it’ll be up to the school board.
- While we’re in Indiana, the Munster School Board will not be banning the book It’s Christmas, David, despite one parent’s complaints. This story may be paywalled.
- An Ocala High School (FL) senior has asked her school board to support ending book bans and website bans in the county. The bit here about how books she read in middle school now being banned is spot on.
- Anyone could see this coming: “LGBTQ topics would be banned from middle school and high school curriculum under a bill advancing in the Iowa House that seeks to expand a law that currently applies to Kindergarten through sixth grade.”
- The US Department of Defense Education Activity demands book bans and curriculum censorship in its 161 schools, impacting over 67,000 students.
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