Debate Over the Founding Fathers and Their Christian Influence

There’s a persistent discussion among Americans about whether the Founding Fathers were influenced by Christianity or if they were more secular. Dr. Carlos Campo, who leads the Museum of the Bible, joins Blaze TV host Allie Beth Stuckey to talk about this topic.

Stuckey asks Campo about the assertions that the founders were primarily deists and that their founding documents lacked any religious faith. Campo, whose museum showcases exhibits regarding America’s founding and the Bible’s role in it, offers insight.

“Can we really claim that all founders were Orthodox Christians? Not quite,” Campo states. His museum strives to tell the story of the founders with accuracy and depth.

He adds, “If only we could talk to them again, I think we’d discover just how much the Bible influenced their everyday lives.”

Campo references the wording in the Declaration of Independence, noting that the capitalized “Creator” perhaps indicates a deeper significance about their beliefs.

Stuckey agrees and suggests they didn’t fully grasp how prevalent religious principles were in their time. She points out that Gospel values instilled a revolutionary idea: rights that originate from being human rather than from a monarch.

“I believe that through the Holy Spirit, they integrated these concepts into our foundational principles,” she adds.

She also cites John Adams, who famously remarked that the core principles driving the fight for independence were fundamentally tied to Christianity. Stuckey concludes, “It’s hard to argue that the founders were agnostic or held a relativistic moral perspective. That just doesn’t hold up.”