The WallBuilders Show Rebuilding Liberty Course Part 3: The Bible's Hidden History in American Education
The battle for religious liberty in America has reached a historic turning point, with implications that reach into every community and classroom across the nation. In this powerful episode of Rebuilding Liberty, David Barton uncovers the dramatic transformation in how courts interpret religious expression in public life.
For half a century, the "Lemon test" served as the legal standard that systematically pushed faith out of public spaces—cited over 7,000 times to justify removing prayers, crosses, Ten Commandments displays, and religious references from schools and government property. But in a stunning reversal, recent Supreme Court decisions have completely abandoned this approach, replacing it with a "history and tradition test" that presumes constitutional protection for religious expressions with historical precedent in American life.
Barton takes listeners on a fascinating journey through America's educational history, revealing startling facts about our nation's religious foundations. Did you know America's first public school law was called "The Old Deluder Satan Act," explicitly created to ensure biblical literacy? Or that the first English-language Bible printed in America was officially recommended by Congress for use in schools? These historical revelations dismantle the modern myth that America's founders intended education to be secular.
From the New England Primer that taught colonial children their ABCs through Bible verses to founding father Benjamin Rush's insistence that "the only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion," this episode reconstructs the authentic American understanding of faith in public life.
This isn't just history—it's a roadmap for restoring religious liberty today. As crosses return to veterans' memorials and expressions of faith re-enter the public square, we're witnessing the constitutional correction that reconnects America with its founding principles. For anyone concerned about religious freedom, education, or constitutional rights, this episode provides both the historical context and practical hope for rebuilding liberty in our time.