True religious freedom protects biblical heritage

Dear Editor:
Recent letters have criticized efforts to return the Bible to public schools. One frames the proposal as “Christian Nationalism” and selective free speech, questioning why the Bible alone is highlighted while the Quran or Torah are overlooked. Another insists that allowing the Bible requires equal inclusion of the Quran, the Satanic Bible, and prayers to Horus, Ra, or Allah broadcast over school speakers, claiming the law forbids any religion from being taught or practiced in public schools.
This misunderstands both history and the First Amendment. The phrase “separation of church and state” was never intended to secularize public life or ban the Bible from schools. As Reformation leaders like Luther, Calvin, and Roger Williams taught, and as early Americans including the pilgrims affirmed, it protected the church from state control — not the reverse. The First Amendment prohibits Congress from establishing a national church or interfering with free exercise. Justice Joseph Story and early Congresses confirmed it targeted government overreach, not public religious expression.
For over three centuries, the Bible served as America’s primary educational text. Fisher Ames, who helped frame the Bill of Rights, and Benjamin Rush, known as the Father of Public Schools Under the Constitution, championed it for building virtue, literacy, and wisdom. The New England Primer taught reading through biblical truths, and the Northwest Ordinance declared religion, morality, and knowledge essential to good government. This produced remarkable results, including youth like John Quincy Adams conducting diplomacy by age 13 and countless other early achievers who demonstrated maturity far beyond today’s norms.
The 1962-63 Supreme Court rulings removing Bible and prayer reversed this long tradition, correlating with declining SAT scores and literacy rates. Faith-based education still outperforms public schools significantly.
Any religious teaching in public schools must conform to the U.S. Constitution. Teachings from Sharia law, including honor killings and “death to the infidel” as found in the Quran, directly violate constitutional principles of life, liberty, equal protection, and religious freedom. Therefore, they cannot be given equal standing.
True religious freedom protects the right of Americans to honor their biblical heritage in public education without mandating belief. It does not require erasing the source of our liberties to accommodate every other text equally. As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, let’s restore accurate history rather than a secular revision.
Respectfully,
Lee Benson,
Aurora