What got you interested in studying the place of the Bible in America's history?

Well, if I can—maybe this is the—I can get a little autobiographical here, if that's okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, I grew up in a very religious household in a very religious town in Southern Oklahoma.

It was a very small town.

I think we had around 1500 people in the town and we still had around 30 different churches in the area.

It's not a surprise, really.

because for too many generations in our country's history, recently, we have forgotten the importance of faith to our founding fathers.

You know, it's an important element of the story.

The founders read the Bible, and that's something that often gets lost.

For the founding generation, the Bible was part of daily life.

It functioned as a religious text, of course.

You could hear it in churches and synagogues.

But it was also a civic and political text as well.

What's your response to fellow Americans who are trying to make sense of what they see as some sort of dichotomy there?

And, and it reminds me of the core importance of this museum and why I was so excited, along with millions of Americans, in 2017 when it opened because for too many generations in our, in our country's history recently, we have forgotten the importance of faith to our Founding Fathers.

Mm.

You know, it's, it's a, it's an important element of the story.

Uh, the, the founders read the Bible, and that, that's something that, uh, uh, often gets lost.

And, uh, it was ...

For the founding generation, the Bible was, uh, part of daily life.

It functioned as a religious text, of course.

Explain what we've lost when we don't refer to the Bible, not just in religious settings but in secular civic settings.