New England Primer.
This edition of the Primer
differed somewhat from
the 1777 version but still
used biblical imagery.
75 years and are still used today in some private schools.
McGuffey wrote in the Preface to the Fourth Reader: “From
no source has the author drawn more copiously, in his selec-
tions, than from the sacred Scriptures. For this, he certainly
apprehends no censure. In a Christian country, that man is
to be pitied, who at this day, can honestly object to imbuing
the minds of youth with the language and spirit of the Word
of God.” 5 Other prominent textbooks from early America
were thoroughly Christian as well.
The contrast of biblical education in early America with
today’s secular education is evident when comparing the
definition of words from Webster’s original Dictionary,
published in 1828, with modern dictionaries. Webster
used thousands of Scripture references and defined words
biblically. Modern dictionaries give humanistic definitions.
Consider, for example, the word immoral. In his original
definition of this word Webster wrote, “Every action is
immoral which contravenes any divine precept, or which is
contrary to the duties men owe to each other.” 6 To Webster,
divine precept was the standard to judge immorality. Today,
the standard is quite different, as reflected in the defini-
tion of immoral in modern dictionaries. Webster’s New
World Dictionary defines immoral as “not in conformity
with accepted principles of right and wrong behavior.” 7 The
standard for immoral behavior today has become what the
consensus of the population thinks. Man, rather than God,
has been declared the judge of right and wrong conduct.
Man becomes his own god.
22
MODERN SECULAR TEXTS
Modern textbooks have been completely sanitized of their
early Christian content. Many people have documented this
change but none so thoroughly as Professor Paul C. Vitz in
a government-funded study he conducted in the 1980s on
whether bias exists in public school textbooks. His study
clearly showed that bias and censorship exist and that the
nature of the bias is clear: “Religion, traditional family
values, and conservative political and economic positions
have been reliably excluded from children’s textbooks.” 8
Vitz wrote that while the bias may not be deliberate, a
“secular and liberal mindset appears to be responsible.” 9
And he points out that the bias is primarily manifested
by exclusion. As an example, “Sixty representative social
studies textbooks were carefully evaluated,” and “none of
the books covering grades one through four contain one
word referring to any religious activity in contemporary
American life.” 10
While these social studies texts mention the family, “the
idea that marriage is the origin and foundation of the fami-
ly is never presented. Indeed, the words marriage, wedding,
husband, wife, do not occur once in these books.” 11 It is not
surprising why so many Americans today reject the biblical
view of the family.
The social studies texts frequently presented “role models”
but “not one contemporary role model is conservative and
male.” High school U.S. history texts almost completely
ignored major religious events of the past two hundred years