Exploring ‘Sacred Liberty’: The Bible’s Role in America’s Founding

Imagine managing the largest Bible museum in America and selecting items for an exhibition celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary. Among the 5,000 Bibles and artifacts, which would you choose to showcase the Bible’s influence on America’s founding?

Would you highlight how different Christian groups used the Bible to support or oppose the American Revolution? Or perhaps focus on their views regarding granting rights to other faith communities and debates about government-led prayer?

At the Museum of the Bible, located in Washington, D.C., the objective of its centerpiece 250th exhibition, ‘Sacred Liberty,’ aligns with the museum’s core mission: to spark curiosity about Christian scripture and underscore its importance. Anthony Schmidt, the senior curator, explains that the Bible served as a significant backdrop for the founders’ debates on topics such as government roles and the divine rights of kings.

The foundational documents Americans study on July Fourth, like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, don’t mention faith directly. However, ignoring the Bible’s impact, according to Schmidt, means missing a crucial part of history.

The exhibit, which opened on July 3, reflects the museum’s ongoing efforts to narrate a complex story using its extensive collection while adhering to the mission of its evangelical founders and board members. These members are required to affirm a statement of faith regarding the Bible’s truth.

Historian Catherine Brekus from Harvard points out that the exhibition emphasizes evangelical views of the Bible during the founding era but omits other perspectives. She acknowledges that while the Bible was indeed central to revolutionary discourse, there is more to the story.

Mark David Hall, an expert on early American religion from Regent University, views the exhibition as a corrective to what he sees as a recent undervaluation of the Bible’s role in America’s history. ‘The Bible was the most important text in American founding by far,’ he asserts, emphasizing its influential and positive impact.

Some key items featured in the exhibition highlight the Bible’s role in America’s founding story:

• The Aitken Bible: This Bible was the first printed in English in North America and dubbed the ‘Bible of the Revolution.’ While praised by Congress, the exhibit points to the complexities and debates about religion’s place in early America, such as Congress’s refusal to fund its printing.
• Thomas Jefferson’s Letter: An 1809 letter from Jefferson to a Connecticut church emphasizes religious liberty as a key legacy, praising the Constitution for safeguarding ‘the rights of conscience.’
• Judah Monis’s Textbook: This Hebrew textbook, printed by Monis, sheds light on early Jewish life in America. The exhibit notes Monis, the first Jew to earn a college degree in the colonies, converted to Christianity to pursue his career and education at Harvard.
• Jacob Duché’s Sermon: Known for his role as chaplain to the first Continental Congress, Duché’s sermon after the battles of Lexington and Concord is displayed. His later retraction of revolutionary support adds complexity to his story.