Published June 29, 2026
America cannot be understood apart from the Bible. At virtually every turn in American history, there is a reference or overture to the Bible. Its place in our storied past has been central—forming our imagination, our ethics, our legal code, our cultural markers, and even our holidays.
The Bible’s central role as a quintessential source for shaping our American identity is present from our beginning and then right through to the present day—cited endlessly by the Founders, misappropriated to justify slavery, and still, to this day, drawn from to inspire the moral character of our nation. Some scholars argue, in fact, that Deuteronomy is the most quoted source during the era of America’s founding. If the Constitution is America’s legal constitution, the Bible is America’s moral constitution.
From John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” sermon, drawn from Matthew 5:14, to the Liberty Bell emblazoned with Leviticus 25:10, to Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural address alluding to Matthew and the Psalms, to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech the night before he died invoking the biblical imagery of “I’ve been to the mountaintop” from Deuteronomy 34:1-4, the Bible’s role has been central. Now the Bible is, of course, more than just an American document. After all, its origins predate America by thousands of years. Nevertheless, the Bible’s role in shaping America has been clear from the beginning of our national story.
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Andrew T. Walker, Ph.D., is a Fellow in the Evangelicals and Civic Life Program at The Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is also the Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and the founding Managing Editor of WORLD Opinions. He co-hosts The Bully Pulpit, a weekly podcast exploring faith, culture, and politics from a conservative Christian perspective.
