European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 5, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Attempts to censor ideas in schools cited by hem. Hechinger new York times censorship of books and Public school curriculum in the United Stales has been increasing dramatically in me last year incidents have increased 35 percent in the Pas i our years they have More than doubled these developments have been reported by people Lor the american Way a Washington based lobby on Church stale separation and other constitutional issues in us fourth annual study of censorship. Attacks on the Freedom to learn. The study also found a significant Shilt in the nature of the attacks they arc primarily aimed not a whal critics Call dirty  but at ideas Wilh which the would he censors disagree More than in the past the driving Lorce is the censors religious views. The Survey is evidence of the activities of the religious right to promote their Point o View in the Public schools said Anthony t. Podesta the organization s president almost 60 percent of Iho incidents were Al templs to censor ideas a formation and leaching methods in 1he classroom censors Loday Don l just ban books they want to ban ideas Hal Diller from their  he added Hal educators trying to combat drug Batise Imd themselves under pressure to eliminate drug education programs in Iho face of an epidemic of teen do pregnancy be said sex education is under renewed a i Lack attempts a censorship do not come exclusively from Iho political or religious Nghil the Survey reports that environmentalists in Oregon a Janie to remove a fourth Grade social studies Book they said contained pro Industry  the Pinal county. Ariz., chapter of the National association for the advancement of coloured people of a Clad to Harper Lee s novel to kill a mockingbird because it contained Cher Galory terms Tor  tie steady increase of censorship is alarming. In he 1qb5 86 school year. 39 percent of the attacks on books and curriculum actually led to the removal of restriction of the materials As Agama 23 percent four years ago. A year ago. Surveys by the Nal onal Council of teachers of English and its Commilles against censorship reported that in 1977,34 percent of the schools Hal responded to its questions had received challenges to materials in their libraries by 1982, the Liguin had risen to 56 percent the English caches had first noted in 1984 that there had been a dramatic increase in the activities of organized watchdog groups leading to censorship thai trend is now confirmed by people for the american Way a least 43 percent of censorship a atoms. It reported were organized by  groups As Phyllis Schlafly s Eagle forum Beverly Lahaye s conce Iod women for America. The Rev. Pat Rob i s National Legal foundation and the relatively new National association of Christian educators censorship is increasing in All parts of the United slates and in Bolh Rural and Urban school districts. Podesla referred to Grealer intolerance for different Points of View. Targets of censorship he reports included Mal dials in Basic courses ranging from English literature and Reading to science and health. Instances of censorship filed in tha report include in Alabama members of Eagle forum and Faith America and other fundamentalist groups objected to books to Loreign languages and music because they failed to meet certain religious and social  As a result. The slate textbook committee rejected 37 books. In Louisiana state officials rejected three environmental science textbooks on the grounds that they promoted Radical social and political philosophies and Prach Ces " they filed references to dinosaurs As supporting thu theory of evolution Al Ferguson High school in Newport news. Va., Trie color purple by Alice Wakkur ran into trouble because of language seen As objectionable in Florence s.c., the school Board voted to pull Litulu Phyllis sch tatty s Eagle forum group Haa alerted parents to prevent schools from manipulating child inns moral standards through Curr Toul text Tooki audiovisual materials or supplementary  remove Iho Merriam Webster College dictionary from school libraries in response to a Parent s objections to the definitions of certain words in Church Hill Tenn concerned women for Amanca sued school officials Over the use of the Grade school Reading series published by Holt Rinehart & Winston because of the books secular humanism a ruling is expected soon in Federal Dis Ricl court. The report charges that organized censorship efforts Aie increasingly accompanied by More sophistical de tactics of litigation regulation and legislation. Robertson s National Legal foundation for instance is financing a Challenge to the entire Public school curriculum in Mobile Ala. The report notes censorship groups continued use of an amendment attached by sen. Orrin g. Hatch r Utah in 1984 to the education for economic Security acl. The Hatch amendment prohibits the use of certain Federal funds for any course of instruction the substance of which is secular  secular humanism though Only vaguely defined has become a major focus of attack by fundamentalists and right Wing political the oriols who assert thai its influence which they Call irreligious can be found in a wide variety of scientific philosophical and literary themes. Charges of secular humanism have been levelled against evolution and the works of Homer Hawthorne and Hemingway people for the american Way says l is applied 1o classics ranging from the wizard of of to Trie diary at Anne Frank. Hindu fables space exploration and to stories about Leonardo a Vinci. Schlafly s Eagle forum based in Illinois has alerted parents to rely on the Hatch amendment to prevent schools from manipulating childrens moral standards through curricula textbooks audiovisual materials or supplementary  on the forum s list of forbidden instruction topics from which Hatch has since distanced himself Are nuclear War virtually every aspect of human sexuality and anti Valiona Islic. One world government or globalism curricula and autobiographical assignments. People for the american Way warns that censors pressures can do serious damage to the Quality of education far beyond specific incidents. The group says its earlier studies showed that a sixth of the biology texts used in schools did not mention evolution at Alt and half covered it inadequately. The group s review of history textbooks found the Rote of religion in american history virtually ignored. The latest study found that the film Romeo and Juliet had been banned on the ground that in encouraged drug use. Whal makes religion based attacks on whal students read and what schools teach so disturbing Are overtones of religious intolerance. The report by people for the american Way Points out that citizens or excellence in education a component of the National association of Christian educators pledged to bring Public education Back under the control of christians and to do so by taking Complete control of at local school boards " Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday october 5,198b