Study Says Christian Heritage Erased From Children’s Books

Christian faith is being removed from history books for young readers, a new report from Brave Books found.

“The America 250 Faith Gap” analyzed more than 300 books across 25 reading lists curated by children’s publishers, public libraries and other institutional sources for the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. The study reportedly found zero titles directly addressing faith, religious liberty or Christianity’s role in the founding of the United States, despite religious liberty being enshrined in the First Amendment, Fox News reported.

The report was released as publishers, museums, libraries and civic organizations prepare materials for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. PBS Books, for example, has released an America250 reading list featuring nonfiction, historical fiction and children’s literature about the people, events and ideals surrounding the nation’s founding. Brave Books argues that many of those efforts are giving children an incomplete view of the American story.

Religious liberty is not a minor theme in the nation’s founding documents. The First Amendment bars Congress from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791 and remains one of the clearest statements of religious freedom in American history.

Although books about the Great Awakening, the faith lives of the founders and the black church’s role in American history were completely absent, according to the report, the lists included Ibram X. Kendi’s “Stamped for Kids” and Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “Born on the Water,” a picture book tied to the controversial 1619 Project.

Several recommended titles focused heavily on transgender activism during the 1969 Stonewall Riots, including a picture book for young children. Lists also heavily promoted Kate Messner’s History Smashers series, which claims to expose “myths, lies and secrets” in American history, as well as sympathetic biographies of former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, with no equivalent biographies of any Republican leaders.

Brave Books CEO Trent Talbot said the findings show a larger problem in how children are being taught about America’s past.

“When reading lists for America’s 250th anniversary don’t include a single book acknowledging Christianity’s role, that’s not an oversight,” Talbot told Fox. “That’s a choice.”

The report’s findings drew sharp criticism from former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson and OutKick host Riley Gaines, who both are Brave Books authors.

“Faith is not a footnote in the American story,” Carson said. “It is the foundation of it. The Declaration of Independence says our rights come from our creator. Benjamin Franklin called the Constitutional Convention to prayer before they produced a document that has stood for 250 years. George Washington survived battle after battle in ways that defied all human explanation. These men knew where their strength came from.”

The Museum of the Bible also is highlighting faith’s role in the nation’s founding as part of the country’s 250th anniversary. A Washington, D.C., exhibit features founding-era Bibles, family Bibles tied to prominent Americans and letters connected to religious freedom. Museum officials say the materials show how Scripture shaped early American conversations about liberty, education and public life.

Teaching children to love their country does not mean ignoring its flaws, but it also does not mean embellishing them, Gaines said.

“As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, kids deserve more than a story about what’s wrong with America,” she said. “They deserve to know why generations of people around the world have looked to America as a beacon of hope, opportunity and freedom. That’s not indoctrination. That’s telling the whole story.”

–Dwight Widaman