How Should Christians Think Through Book Banning and Censorship

You may be hearing a lot more about banned books, particularly last month during Banned Book Week. Bookstores and libraries featured displays of books that have been banned throughout the years, and publishing companies, authors, and social media book influencers spread anti-censorship messages on their feeds.

But what is really going on with banned books and how should we as Christians think of this issue?

What Is Happening?

It is both individuals and organizations that request the removal of books from schools, libraries, book lists, and bookstores. The reasons for wanting a book banned are endless. Most of the time it is because the content is considered to be inappropriate for children or at times even adults. This content consists of a variety of sexuality, violence, language, LGBTQIA+ and racist themes.

Book Banning is not a simple issue. My personal response to each banned book is different. I have come to realize that I cannot agree that every banned book should be banned, nor can I agree that every banned book should not be banned. Each book is so different it must be judged on its own.  

Take Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This book was put on the banned book list because of racist content against Native American people. Some of the content is indeed racist. I don’t believe every case is. But I disagree that it should be banned. I see the book as an opportunity to explain to children why it is racist and how that goes against how God wants us to live.

But I feel differently about And Tango Makes Three written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole. It is a picture book with a penguin family on the cover. But it’s about two male penguins who are in love and given an egg to raise The book normalizes gay romance for children at a very young age, and I wouldn’t want any child to read it.

The issue of book banning is further complicated when we remember that Hitler initiated his own version of book banning. He made it illegal for any German citizen to have a book that featured any ideas that were considered anti-Nazi. Countless books were burned simply because Hitler didn’t like them. The Bible has been a controversial book from the beginning and has been banned throughout history. There are many countries that even now have banned the Bible and missionaries work to smuggle Bibles into these places so that believers can be fed by the Word of God and distribute Bibles as they share the gospel.

Those that are against banning books make the point that censorship can lead a country to terrible places. In the United States we have rights, and even if I don’t agree with a book’s content, I don’t have control over what my neighbor reads and shouldn’t have that control. Outside of our Western world, it seems like the Bible is a common book to ban, meaning that an unthinkable amount of people around the world will never hear the good news of the gospel.

Those that want to ban books though are often advocating for the removal of books that I agree are horrible for children and sometimes adults to read. How wonderful would it be if the pornographic Fifty Shades of Gray was removed from bookstores everywhere, or if children were never exposed to books with LGBTQIA+ themes?

My Views

My personal belief is that in general, banning books doesn’t do anyone any good. It tends to come from a place of fear and panic that simply causes division and even more fear and panic. Even if I don’t want a book to exist or be read by anyone, banning a book can often only bring attention to it, and either way, it takes away the rights of an individual or a family to decide whether or not a book is read. Authors and publishing companies have the right to create and publish what they wish, and I have the right as a consumer to read or not read as I wish, providing that no one is hurting others in any way.

I think the real problem is that as a society we have lost the ability to read and think critically. While there will always be books that will be inappropriate and sinful for children and adults to read, in general, I think it is better to focus on thinking critically about what we read instead of enforcing book bans. We should teach our children how to read books so that they can figure out what a book is saying and then compare that to God’s Word.  

I am also a huge advocate for the rights of parents. I believe it is the parent’s job and right to have the final say over what their children read and don’t read— not the government, libraries, schools, publishing companies, authors, a “Banned Books List”, or other individuals. Parents should have the discretion to know when their child should or should not read a book and help their children think through the literature and media they consume. I see book banning as a smaller issue inside the umbrella of religious and personal freedoms and rights.

Let us as believers use the topic of banning books as a reminder to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who don’t have access to the Word of God. We can also use the topic as a jumping off point to share our beliefs with unbelievers.

Word of Caution for Parents

Many people that are against banning books believe that children in particular should have access to all books. They fight to get LGBTQIA+ and sexually charged books into the hands of children of all ages and not always with the parent’s knowledge or permission. In recent years there has been a surge of children’s books published where the main plots with messages against censorship and banning books but be warned that they often also feature the LGBTQIA+ themes or other unbiblical ideologies. Though I generally don’t believe in banning books, I am vehemently against much of the content found in these books as well as the agendas that are trying to sneak books like this into the hands of children without parent’s consent.