Pre-1776 Legal Christian Documents In England And The Colonies
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, November 14, 2025 (Donate)
The United States, prior to being their own fledgling nation,
was part of British Empire. The colonials came largely from England and few
places within Christianized Europe.
The USA Was Born Out Of A Christian Nation
From the 1600s to 1776, the colonies were Christian in their
outlook, governance, and daily life. Christianity permeated the entire culture.
This was in the days prior to Charles Darwin when the religion of secular humanism
began taking over in the latter part of the 1800s in England.
Prior to 1776, documents like the Magna Carta or the Thirty-Nine
Articles of Religion were in force as legal documents. With this in mind,
it shows that the United States started with an immersion of Christian
worldview in every area of society.
What was the Magna Carta and other religious and political documents
of the time? Let’s evaluate these in more detail to show the heavy Christian
roots even prior to the founding of the nation.
The Legal Christian Documents
The United States won their independence from England and later called the United Kingdom. England (technically the Kingdom of Great Britain at the time the United States became independent) was unmistakably a Christian nation, especially in its Anglican denominational identity post-Reformation. This can be shown by several foundational legal documents.
Magna Carta Of AD 1215
The Magna Carta arose in 1215 when King John’s heavy
taxation military failures, and arbitrary and changing rules pushed English land
owners (lords/barons) to rebellion. Yes, this is the same King John in Robin
Hood shows!
English landlords demanded that the king recognize ancient God-given
rights and limit his power under law. Negotiations at Runnymede—a rural area
next to the Thames River in Surrey, England—resulted in a charter that bound
the king to legal restraints, protected the English Church, and secured rights
for nobles and, indirectly, free men. It was essentially a peace treaty that
became a foundational document for constitutional government that has influenced
the entire Western World.
The Magna Carta (originally in 1215, reaffirmed in
1225) begins with the explicit declaration that the English Church shall be
free, placing the realm under God and recognizing the Christian Church as a
protected and central institution within English law. A few blatantly Christian
quotes are:
1. “First, we have
granted to God, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs
forever, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights
undiminished and its liberties unimpaired.”
2. “The English Church
shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties
unimpaired.”
3. “We have granted and
given to God, and by this present charter have confirmed, for us and our heirs
forever, the freedom of the Church of England and all its rights and liberties.”
4. “We have granted to
the archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and to the bishops and
clergy of our kingdom, all their accustomed liberties.”
5. “The Church of England
shall enjoy all its ancient liberties free and unhurt.”
Bear in mind that this is prior to the Reformation and the official
organization of the Church of England (Anglican Church).
The Acts of Uniformity Of 1559
The Acts of Uniformity, particularly those of 1559
and 1662, mandated Anglican worship throughout the nation by requiring the use
of the Book of Common Prayer, enforcing attendance at Anglican services, and
binding ministers, educators, and many public officials to affirm Anglican
doctrine.
Of course, this caused tension with other denominations coming
out of the Reformation like the Reformed or Puritans—many of whom later fled to
the colonies due to heavy persecution. Even so, these sources show clearly that
England’s government, monarchy, and public life were legally and structurally
Christian (a particular denomination of Christianity) at the time the United
States emerged as an independent nation.
At the founding of the US, there was never a question about the
freedom and intertwinement of Christianity in politics. It was how to
navigate a key difference from that of England. How to be Christian (with
Bibles and Law) without imposing one denominational view on all citizens. England
imposed Anglicanism and persecuted those who weren’t, even if they were
orthodox in their biblical view (unlike Rome’s deviation from Scripture).
Thirty-Nine Articles Of Religion
(1571)
Doctrinal standards such as the Thirty-Nine Articles of
Religion (1571) shaped the nation at a deeper level. While designed for the
Church of England, the Articles influenced universities, clergy
licensing, education, and the expectations for many public officials.
Parliament required conformity to these Christian doctrines
in various capacities, making the Articles a kind of national
theological framework.
The Test Acts Of 1673
Beyond the monarchy, Parliament (House of Lords and House of
Commons) and public office were also tied to Christianity. The Test Acts of
1673 and 1678 required anyone serving in civil or military office,
including members of Parliament, to take the Lord’s Supper according to
Anglican practice and publicly reject Catholic doctrines.
Parliamentary oaths reinforced this requirement by including
affirmations such as “upon the true faith of a Christian.” These measures meant
that service in the House of Commons or House of Lords required
explicit Christian profession.
The Coronation Oath Act Of 1688
The Coronation Oath Act of 1688 required every
monarch to vow before God to maintain the laws of God, uphold the true
profession of the Gospel, and defend the Protestant Reformed Religion
established by law. This made the Christian (specifically Anglican) faith a
constitutional requirement for the head of state, who also served as the
Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
This is why the King or Queen of England—to this day—is the head of the Anglican Church.
Bill of Rights Of 1689
England’s identity as a Christian nation was reinforced by
several major documents that shaped its monarchy, Parliament, and civil order.
The Bill of Rights of 1689 required that the monarch be Protestant and
barred Catholics from the throne, embedding Protestant Christianity directly
into the constitutional structure.
This made the Christian faith a prerequisite for national
leadership and was intended to secure the nation’s stability through adherence
to the Protestant religion. This Bill of Rights also protected people from
excessive bail and cruel punishments. One can easily see how this document had influenced
the US Constitutional Bill of Rights, even though they are very different documents.
The Act of Settlement Of 1701
The Act of Settlement of 1701 strengthened this by insisting
that the monarch must profess the Protestant faith, remain in communion with
the Church of England, and pass the crown only to Protestant heirs. This is why
some heirs of the past were overlooked because they were not Protestant.
Since the King or Queen serves as the Supreme Governor of
the Church of England, this act ensured that the nation itself remained aligned
with Protestant Anglican Christianity in both governance and religious
identity. Together, these acts placed the Christian faith at the core of the
English constitution.
Conclusion
Collectively, these sources show that England was
constitutionally, culturally, and politically a Christian nation during the
period when the United States was founded. This meant that the colonies were
also under that same influence. Even though some suggest that the United States
was formed as a secular nation (e.g., the religion of secular humanism),
remedial research shows the opposite was the case.
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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website.
He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and
researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head
of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a
personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has
spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
