It’s October 1777, and a tiny fleet of American galleys and gunboats is charging straight at the might of the British Royal Navy on the Delaware River. Cannon fire booms across the water, thick smoke rolls into the autumn sky, and soldiers inside nearby forts fire round after round into the approaching fleet. Against every expectation, the outnumbered Americans hold their ground. Moving up the river to support an attack on Fort Mercer, the massive 64-gun ship HMS Augusta and the small but mighty warship HMS Merlin both ran aground. Trapped and exposed under fire from the entrenched Continentals and Commodore John Hazelwood’s Pennsylvania State Navy, the Augusta catches fire and explodes — a blast so loud it shatters windows in Philadelphia, nine miles away. Seeing that there was no escape, the crew of the Merlin abandons and sets the ship ablaze rather than let it fall into the hands of the Americans. By the time the smoke clears, the British Admiralty realizes two warships are lost, not to superior firepower, but to the sheer determination of a handful of small boats and the men who refused to despair. Word of the victory reached John Adams within days. Writing to his wife Abigail, he could barely contain his amazement: “our galleys disabled two men of war, a sixty-four and a twenty-gun ship, in such a manner that the enemy blew them up.”
The Battle of Red Bank is just one of many stories that show how America’s founding was nothing short of miraculous. The same spirit of hope and grit can be seen in the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, who set sail “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith” and endured immense hardship for the sake of religious liberty and self-governance. Their story is a powerful testimony to God’s providence woven throughout our history and it points to a deeper truth: America’s story cannot be understood apart from the faith that shaped it.
One of the most in-depth studies of that influence comes from political scientist Donald S. Lutz, who analyzed thousands of founding-era pamphlets, articles, and political texts. He found that the Bible was cited more than any other source: nearly a third of all direct citations, with Deuteronomy quoted more than any other single book, far exceeding secular philosophers like Montesquieu and Locke.
That influence shows up repeatedly in the Founders’ own words. Samuel Adams hoped the “kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly bow to the scepter of Him who is the Prince of Peace.” John Adams put it plainly: “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence…were the general principles of Christianity, in which all those sects were united, and the general principles of English and American liberty.” Benjamin Franklin said, “Here is my Creed: I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by his Providence.” Most of the Founding Fathers and early American leaders frequently discussed just how much the Bible, God, Jesus, and Christian principles shaped their lives. It is evident that many of the founders were deeply influenced by religious conviction. There was a strong biblical worldview guiding our founding, a worldview both unique in its time and intended to shape the nation for generations to come. Today’s secular retellings often strip the Founders of this faith, but their own writing tells a very different story.
Too many have lost sight of our roots, an origin that was overwhelmingly gospel-centered and God-revering. We must know what our Founders stood for and the foundation upon which this nation was built, because being knowledgeable of our history, core values, and liberties reminds us just how blessed we are to live in America. We can revel in the hope that we have in and because of Christ, just like our Founders did. Scripture calls us to “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15), and our founding documents themselves reflect the biblical foundations of that hope. Staying informed keeps us keenly aware of the unmistakable, God-breathed foundations of our nation, and equips us to become better advocates for His name in our nation.
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it is worth remembering what got us here. God blessed our nation because the people who built it sought to glorify Him, even in the founding documents. John Quincy Adams said that the Declaration of Independence “first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth” and that “it laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.” That is clearly seen through the Declaration itself: the Founders recognized the radical truth that “all men are created equal” because they knew our rights are “endowed by their Creator,” not granted by the government. The Constitution carries the same truth forward, as John Adams insisted, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” George Washington in his Farewell Address echoed the conviction of both documents when he wrote, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” Several ideals and political philosophies shaped our nation and profoundly contributed to America’s early greatness, but all were derived from a foundation rooted upon faith in God.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
Ultimately, America became great because its earliest institutions, leaders, and citizens were shaped by the conviction that freedom is a gift from God: people who recognized God as the Author of liberty, fought fiercely to protect this freedom, and ordered their public life accordingly. This biblical worldview unified the principles and habits necessary for building a prosperous and flourishing nation. If we hope to remain a free nation, we cannot afford to abandon the very source of that freedom. If faith in God was the root of America’s early strength, then recovering that moral and spiritual foundation is essential to preserving our nation’s future.
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Sarai McCullough is a 2026 summer intern for Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) Government Relations Department and the President of Young Women for America’s (YWA) Inland Empire Chapter.
