Startling study finds public libraries, publishers leaving Christianity out of US history
A new report alleges that public libraries and publishers are censoring faith from the American story while actively pushing progressive, revisionist history to young readers.The study by conservative publisher Brave Books, titled “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.While books on 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’s “Born on the Water,” a picture book tied to the controversial 1619 Project, instead.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 Republican leaders.According to Brave Books, the most common themes across the lists were the American Revolution, minority perspectives, Black history, civil rights and women’s history.
Books focused on American symbols, the classics, the Founders and civics made up the minority of the recommendations.The lists frequently use words like “complicated,” “hidden” and “untold” to describe American history, in what Brave Books says is an effort to reframe the American story rather than celebrate it.Brave Books noted that while many of these titles...