No, the House didn't pass bill to 'outlaw' the New Testament | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: House passed bill to outlaw the New Testament

A May 3 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a headline that claims federal lawmakers took steps to ban a religious text central to Christianity.

"US Congress House Passes Bill to Outlaw New Testament," the headline reads. Below it is text that reads, "The US House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, but concerns arise over its potential restriction on the biblical portrayal of Jesus' crucifixion."

The post's caption reads, "Remember, they don't want to you (sic) reading the Bible!"

The post was shared more than 100 times in a week.

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Our rating: False

The bill referenced in the post would not outlaw the New Testament, according to multiple legal experts. Instead, it would require the Department of Education to use a certain definition of antisemitism when it enforces federal anti-discrimination laws on college campuses.

Bill defines antisemitism in federal anti-discrimination law

In early May, the House approved legislation that, if enacted, would expand the definition of antisemitism that the Department of Education uses when it investigates discrimination against Jews on college campuses. It passed with some bipartisan support amid a wave of protests on college campuses over Israel's war in Gaza. The bill's fate in the Senate is uncertain, the Associated Press reported.

The legislation, called the Antisemitism Awareness Act, would apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on "race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance." That includes all colleges and universities that receive federal funds.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Florida Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said before the vote she wouldn't support the legislation, claiming it "could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews." Similarly, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said in an X post that “the Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of the bill.”

Fact check: House condemned pro-Palestinian slogan in resolution, did not ban it

But Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor, told USA TODAY that the legislation "doesn't outlaw the New Testament at all," nor would it ban the religious text from federally funded institutions.

"You're not banning something, you're conditioning federal funds on something," Painter said. "That's different than banning it."

While certain passages of the New Testament could potentially be interpreted in ways that fit the bill's definition of antisemitism, "that doesn't mean the New Testament itself would meet the definition of antisemitism," Painter said.

Jason Mazzone, a law professor at the University of Illinois, said there is no plausible way to interpret the legislation as banning the New Testament, even in a higher education setting.

"Title VI has never been understood to require schools and other recipients of federal funding to remove or prohibit from campus books on the basis that they may contain offensive material," Mazzone said. "Nothing in the Antisemitism Awareness Act newly imposes such a requirement. And if it did, it would be a clear violation of the First Amendment."

There is only one reference to the New Testament in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism – in this example: "Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis."

The Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum both consider the claim that Jews killed Jesus to be an antisemitic myth used to justify violence against Jews for centuries. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that there is no basis in scripture to support the claim that Jewish people as a whole were collectively responsible for Jesus' death, CBS News reported.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House passed bill to define antisemitism in federal law | Fact check

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