Throughout much of American history, the Bible played an important role in education. Many of the nation’s earliest leaders believed that teaching children to read was essential because it allowed them to read the Bible for themselves and develop strong moral character.
The “Old Deluder Satan Act” (from the Code of 1650) required towns with at least 50 households to establish a school. According to the law, education was important because it helped ensure that children could read the Scriptures for themselves rather than remain ignorant of God’s Word, like what had happened during the Dark Ages.
The Bible in Early American Classrooms
The influence of the Bible is evident in America’s earliest schoolbooks. The first widely used textbook printed in the colonies, taught children to read through Bible passages, moral lessons, and a shortened version of the short Biblical catechisms.
Early schools often used other catechisms—a question-and-answer method of teaching. While many catechisms focused on Biblical instruction, others taught subjects such as entomology, music, ancient history, and the US Constitution.
Other well-known textbooks also emphasized Biblical values. Noah Webster’s famous The American Spelling Book, often called the “Blue-Backed Speller,” included moral lessons that referenced the Ten Commandments. McGuffey’s Readers, used by millions of students during the nineteenth century, combined reading instruction with the Ten Commandments and lessons on honesty, responsibility, respect, and other virtues rooted in biblical principles.
These examples illustrate the significant role that biblical instruction and moral education played in American classrooms for many generations.
Progressive Educational Changes
During the twentieth century, the relationship between religion and public education changed through progressive policies and a series of Supreme Court decisions.
In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the US Supreme Court misapplied Thomas Jefferson’s “a wall of separation between church and state” metaphor to its interpretation of the First Amendment, neglecting the broader historical context of Jefferson’s views, including the fact that that, two days after writing that famous letter, Jefferson attended church services held in the US Capitol while serving as president.
The Court continued in this misdirection in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), creating a three-part “Lemon test” to evaluate government actions involving religion. Using that framework, the Court later ruled in Stone v. Graham (1980) that Kentucky’s law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was unconstitutional.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has shifted away from the Lemon test. In American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019), the Court emphasized the importance of the nation’s history and traditions when considering the relationship between the state and religion. Then, in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022), the Court officially abandoned the Lemon test, directing lower courts to consider the original understanding of the First Amendment and the nation’s historical practices when deciding similar cases.
Influential Today
Whether through laws encouraging Biblical literacy or textbooks that included Scripture and moral lessons, the Bible was an important influence on early American education.
