A investigation was conducted by Dr. Donald S. Lutz*, a professor of political philosophy at the University of Houston, and his research associate, Dr. Charles Hyneman. They conducted a groundbreaking 10-year study of the ideas that shaped our republic and published their findings in The American Political Science Review in 1984. Lutz and Hyneman examined nearly 15,000 writings of the 55 writers of the Constitution, including newspaper articles, pamphlets, books and monographs.
Their article, "The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought", revealed that the Bible, especially the book of Deuteronomy, contributed to 34 percent of all direct quotes made by the Founders. When indirect Bible citations were included, the percentage increased even more.5
Regarding the Houston study,
Their article, "The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought", revealed that the Bible, especially the book of Deuteronomy, contributed to 34 percent of all direct quotes made by the Founders. When indirect Bible citations were included, the percentage increased even more.5
Regarding the Houston study,
"The three most quoted individuals were French philosopher Montesquieu (8.3 percent), English jurist William Blackstone (7.9 percent) and English philosopher John Locke (2.9 percent). But Biblical citations dwarfed them all. Ninety-four percent of the founding fathers quotes were based on the Bible--34 percent directly from its pages and 60 percent from men who had used the Bible to arrive at their conclusions."
“According to Lutz, the U.S. Constitution is a political document that is the product of a constitution-making tradition that can be traced to colonial charters and which is modeled on the biblical covenant—a solemn agreement between God and man. The colonists 'didn’t come over with John Locke in hand,' said Lutz. 'They came over with the Bible in hand.' While many of their technologies were ill-suited to the New World, the idea of constitution-making insured their success. 'It was the perfect technology,' said Lutz. 'It was the technology that mattered and allowed them to survive all up and down the coast.' ”
“According to Lutz, the U.S. Constitution is a political document that is the product of a constitution-making tradition that can be traced to colonial charters and which is modeled on the biblical covenant—a solemn agreement between God and man. The colonists 'didn’t come over with John Locke in hand,' said Lutz. 'They came over with the Bible in hand.' While many of their technologies were ill-suited to the New World, the idea of constitution-making insured their success. 'It was the perfect technology,' said Lutz. 'It was the technology that mattered and allowed them to survive all up and down the coast.' ”
