An Interview with David Barton Part 2

When and why did you start WallBuilders?

As we continued our preparation to attend the CWA convention, each convention participant was encouraged to schedule a visit with his congressman while attending the conference. We scheduled the visit, but at the time, we had not a clue what we would talk to him about; I had never in my life met a congressman, much less talked to one; and I had never been involved in political affairs and had no idea what to say to a congressman. But after finding an apparent correlation between SAT scores and the repudiation of God in education, I felt that I now had something I could ask him about.

When we met our congressman, we observed the usual formalities (Where are you from? How old are your three children? Would you like a picture of your family with the Congressman? Why are you in D. C.? etc.). He then asked if there was anything specific we would like to talk about. Uncertain of how he would respond, I showed him the two pieces of information, the apparent correlation, and then asked him if he had ever seen anything like it. He looked at the information and remained silent for several moments, just studying the two facts. He, too, was amazed at the apparent correlation and informed me that, to his knowledge, in all the congressional controversy surrounding the attempt to return religious principles to schools, statistical information had never been presented. School prayer had always previously been considered a “religious” issue only; this was the first time in his extended tenure in Congress that he had seen information suggesting any tangible effect of religious principles in schools. He stared at the chart, shook his head, and exclaimed, “Someone ought to research this!” Although the congressman had voiced the words, the impact on my heart and mind was the same as if God Himself had personally delivered to me a commission.

After returning home from Washington, the strategy for pursuing further research was providentially outlined through a casual comment made by my secretary. She had been examining the simple 22-word prayer from the 1962 Engel v. Vitale case in which the Court first negated school prayer (“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our Country”). As we were discussing how the removal of such a simple prayer might have so profoundly affected education, she observed that probably all four of the areas mentioned in the students’ prayer (students, families, schools, and the nation) had been dramatically affected since 1962.

Even though she voiced the words, the effect on me was the same as it had been at the congressman’s office – it was as if God had again clearly spoken to my heart. My curiosity was stirred. Had the change in national policy – the exclusion of religious principles from public affairs – resulted in any measurable difference for young people, their families, their schools, and their nation?