The Bible won't be Louisiana's official state book after all

A Louisiana lawmaker is giving up his effort to make the Bible his state's official book after critics dubbed the effort a pointless distraction.

Republican Rep. Thomas Carmody introduced legislation earlier this year that would have designated the Christian text as the Bayou State's official tome, saying it "would be appropriate" given that the state motto already references God. And Carmody insisted his goal was neither to promote Christianity nor to create a backdoor to to establish a state religion; the bill said nothing about biblical teachings or dogma.

Still, some critics remained skeptical that the bill could truly be religiously impartial. Others worried the particular Bible Carmody picked would not be inclusive enough of various branches of Christianity.

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So with the Bible debate trumping more important legislative matters, Carmody said Monday he was scrapping the bill so lawmakers could "concentrate our efforts on those things that are much more important."