Long before America had a national school system, it had churches and families who believed that education was not just an intellectual pursuit—but a moral and spiritual responsibility. The foundation of American education is deeply entwined with religious convictions, particularly the belief that individuals should be able to read the Bible, cultivate virtue, and live disciplined, godly lives.
The earliest settlers brought with them a strong commitment to faith-based learning. In Puritan New England, education was seen as essential for promoting Christian knowledge. The Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647, passed in Massachusetts, required towns to hire teachers and establish schools, declaring that:
“It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures…”
The idea was clear: ignorance was a tool of the devil, and literacy was a weapon in the hands of the faithful. Reading the Bible was not just a religious duty—it was a civic one, too.
This theological foundation inspired the creation of some of the most prestigious educational institutions in America. Harvard College, founded in 1636, was originally intended to train Puritan ministers. Its mission statement declared:
“Let every student be plainly instructed… to lay Christ at the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.”
Following Harvard, other religiously-affiliated colleges soon emerged: Yale (Congregationalist), Princeton (Presbyterian), Brown (Baptist), and Dartmouth (Congregationalist for Native Americans). All were rooted in the belief that higher education should not only sharpen the mind but also shape the soul.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, this pattern continued. Churches were central to the education of both children and adults, especially in rural areas. Many early American textbooks, including the famous New England Primer, combined reading lessons with Christian doctrine, moral teachings, and prayers.
The Sunday School Movement, which began in England, took hold in the U.S. during the 1800s. Initially meant to teach poor children how to read, Sunday schools also became centers of Bible instruction and moral guidance. They reflected a growing sense that education and salvation were intertwined—that to educate was to uplift both spiritually and socially.
As the country expanded westward, missionary societies and religious denominations played a crucial role in building schools in newly settled areas. These schools often served multiple purposes: academic instruction, evangelism, and community development. For many African Americans and Native Americans, Christian-run schools were among the first places they had access to any formal education—though often at the cost of cultural erasure and forced assimilation.
The 19th century also saw the rise of public education, largely influenced by religious reformers. Horace Mann, often called the “father of American public education,” was a Unitarian who believed in moral instruction within a nonsectarian framework. While Mann sought to keep schools open to all denominations, moral values rooted in Protestant Christianity remained central. Public school curricula frequently included Bible readings and Christian hymns well into the 20th century.
However, as America grew more religiously diverse, the relationship between religion and education became more complex. Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s, such as Engel v. Vitale and Abington School District v. Schempp, ruled against mandatory prayer and Bible readings in public schools, citing the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Despite these legal boundaries, faith has never disappeared from American education. Private religious schools—Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, and more—continue to thrive across the country, providing millions of students with both academic instruction and spiritual formation. Homeschooling, often rooted in religious motivations, has also grown significantly in recent decades.
In today’s landscape, the religious roots of American education still bear fruit. From seminary campuses to Sunday schools, from character education in public schools to Scripture memory in Christian academies, the conviction that learning is a sacred calling lives on. It’s a legacy that reminds us that for many Americans, knowledge is not only power—it’s a pathway to knowing and serving God.
