Political activist and outspoken Christian Charlie Kirk showcased his expansive knowledge of both the Bible and American history when he responded to skepticism about whether the United States was truly founded as a Christian nation, using both scripture and founding documents to back up his points and leaving the crowd in awe.
For background, while speaking at an event alongside Christian apologists Cliff and Stuart Knechtle in August 2024, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk answered the question of whether America is a Christian nation by pointing to both state constitutions and the words of the Bible, explaining — from memory alone — the Christian basis for the country’s founding.
During the event’s Q&A period, an audience member made the case to Kirk that America “was founded on common law” based solely on the fact that “the Declaration [of Independence] only refers to God four times, and the Constitution doesn’t refer to God at all, and it only articulates the structure of Government.”
Responding to this argument, Kirk began by saying that when the country was founded, “Remember that we were a collection of states and colonies.” He added, “You need to read the state constitutions before anything else.” Explaining the importance of these documents, Kirk said, “Nine out of 13 in the original states required you to be a Bible believing Christian, to serve in government at the time of the founding.”
Continuing, Charlie confirmed that all of the 13 original states but one also required a candidate to “be a Protestant,” clarifying that only Maryland did not because of its Catholic roots. He added, “Almost every single one of the original state constitutions — Pennsylvania included — they had, ‘I profess Lord and Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior’ in the original state constitutions.”
Then, Kirk explained that 55 out of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence “were Bible believing, church attending, Christians.” He then addressed the question of “common law,” saying, “A common law is an outgrowth of the scriptures. So let’s go to three principles of common law: presumption of innocence, due process, and jury of your peers.” Kirk continued, “All three are biblical principles wrapped into the ultimate biblical principle that you shall not [show favoritism in] justice if you are rich or poor, which is Leviticus 19, right before the most famous part of Leviticus 19, which is that you should love your neighbor as yourself.”
Building on his point, Kirk explained, “These are all biblical ideas,” referring to the concepts described as “common law.” He added, “They’re not Enlightenment ideas. They kind of get…conflated at the time. But more importantly than that, they say that God was only mentioned four times in the Declaration of Independence. Well, that’s a big deal.” Quoting the Declaration, Kirk continued, “Okay, laws of nature and nature’s God.”
Moreover, Kirk said that the last section of the Declaration “reads as a prayer,” quoting, “‘We appeal to the Supreme Judge of the universe.’ Who’s the judge of the universe? Jesus Christ. It says, in Revelation, that Jesus will judge the earth on his throne.” He continued, “So in the declaration, they were praying to Christ, our Lord, as a prayer very specifically.”
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