Tennessee's Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would make the Bible the official book of the state.
It was sponsored by Senator Steve Southerland (R-Morristown), and passed the legislative committee with a 7-1 vote.
Now, the bill will pass to a calendar committee, which will determine when it will be sent to the Senate floor.
Last year, a similar effort to pass the bill was struck down. It had passed the House with a 55-38 vote, but did not go through the Senate after opposition from Attorney General Herbert Slatery, who said that the bill was in violation with constitution.
However, Southerland said that the bill would underline the historical significance of Bible, which is not akin to endorsing a religion.
"The Holy Bible has a great historical and cultural significance in the state of Tennessee, as the record of the history of Tennessee family that predates modern vital records," he said.
Southerland referred to the 2005 Supreme Court ruling that said that the Ten Commandment display on government facilities was not unconstitutional.
"What we're doing is using the Supreme Court case as the guideline to make sure it's historical and not religious," Southerland told The Tennessean.
Attorney General Herbert Slatery had said last year that the bill would infringe upon the statute of separation of government and religion.
Senator Kerry Robert (R-Springfield) pointed out that George Washington used the Bible to swear in, and that there were many references to religion in the ceremony.
"The attitude of these people was not to keep religion out of government. It was to keep government out of religion," said Roberts. He gave this reason to support the bill.
A similar bill was taken up in Louisiana and Mississippi but could not pass through the legislature in both the states.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposed the bill, saying that the state should not give preference of one religion over another.
"Selecting the Bible as the state book amounts to government promotion of one religion over other religions, which clearly violates both the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions. America is a place where people are free to practice religion, or not, without government officials deciding which beliefs should be endorsed," said Hedy Weinberg, the group's executive director.
If the bill is approved by the Senate, it will move to Governor Bill Haslam for signature. He has opposed the bill in the past, but did not comment on whether he would veto it or not.
