Magazine turns down ad for talking Jesus doll

NEW YORK — Scholastic Parent and Child, a magazine for parents of young children, has refused to advertise a talking Jesus doll, citing the need to respect preschool students of all faiths. “Scholastic has a long-standing credo that promotes tolerance and diversity,” said Kyle Good of Scholastic.

Because the national magazine is often distributed in public classrooms, advertising the dolls in its November/December holiday gift guide would be inappropriate. “We don’t accept any kind of religious advertisement,” Good said.

The Scripture-spouting figures of Jesus, Moses and other Bible characters hit the market in August and have met with a flurry of media coverage. At the push of a button on their backs, the foot-high dolls recite popular Bible verses. They sport hand-stitched costumes typical of the character’s era. Scholastic first asked dollmaker One2believe to “tone down” the religious message of the $14,000 advertisement, said One2believe Director Joshua Livingston. When Livingston refused, he said, Scholastic chose not to run the ad.