Michael Gove to send copy of King James Bible to all English schools
By Jeevan Vasagar, Guardian
Education secretary will write a brief foreword in special edition marking 400th anniversary of its publication
Michael Gove, the education secretary, is to send a 400th anniversary edition of the King James Bible to every school in England.
Every state school in England is to receive a new copy of the King James Bible from the government – with a brief foreword by Michael Gove, the education secretary, to mark the 400th anniversary of its translation. In a move intended to help every pupil access Britain’s cultural heritage, every primary and secondary school will be sent a new copy of the 1611 translation by next Easter.
The initiative has been criticised by secular campaigners as a waste of money. The National Secular Society said that schools were already “awash with Bibles”. It urged Gove to send out a copy of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species instead.