Source: The Commercial Appeal
On November 2, 2002 The Commercial Appeal reported that "gubernatorial candidate Phil Bredesen blasted a recent Republican mailing as 'a blatant appeal to religious bigotry and hatred' because it questions teaching about world religions in Nashville schools. Bredesen, speaking to the Nashville Downtown Kiwanis Club Friday, said he was 'disgusted' by the mailer... A spokesman for Bredesen's Republican opponent, Van Hilleary, denied a role in sending the mailing. The direct-mail ad pictures a statue of Buddha and says that 'as mayor of Nashville, Phil Bredesen put in place a core curriculum that mandated the teaching of Buddhism and Hinduism to second-graders.' Bredesen pointed out that the Core Curriculum is the same education program touted by leading conservatives nationwide, including U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige and conservative author/educator Bill Bennett, both of whom have campaigned for Hilleary. Tennessee Republican Party spokesman Elizabeth Phillips said the ad 'is not about religion. It's about education. Our point is that these things are being taught at the expense of the fundamentals, at the expense of children being able to read.' The mailer does not mention test scores or literacy, only the fact of the non-Western religions being taught. It concludes that the Core Curriculum 'doesn't reflect our Tennessee values.'"