By Sydney Byerly and Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
May 1, 2025
When Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith cited WallBuilders to defend his controversial comments about the Three-Fifths Compromise, he called the Texas-based nonprofit “the gold standard for learning the real history of America.”
However, historians and scholars have accused the group’s founder of distorting and misinterpreting historical facts to fit his goal of eroding the separation of church and state.
Beckwith, in a social media post, lauded WallBuilders, a think tank that critics say promotes evangelical Christian ideology, as chronicling American history by drawing from “original documents, Scripture and the actual words of those who birthed this nation.” Also, while swiping at “woke ideology,” he encouraged people to read the information produced by WallBuilders and provided a link to the organization’s website.
“Want to know why America became the greatest force for liberty the world has ever seen?” Beckwith asked on his social media post. “Hint: It wasn’t by accident – and it sure wasn’t because of big government or woke ideology. It was because men and women, guided by Biblical truth and unshakable faith in God, built a nation rooted in freedom, virtue, and personal responsibility.”
Still, WallBuilders and particularly its founder, David Barton, have faced criticism and concern about their growing political influence. Barton, according to media reports and policy experts, is focused on inserting his interpretation of Christianity into schools and government at both the state and federal levels. Mainly, experts say, he is working to tear down the wall separating church and state in order to advance the Christian nationalist agenda.
Andrew Seidel, vice president of strategic communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called WallBuilders a “propaganda mill.” It is part of the Christian nationalist movement, he said, and is spreading disinformation by claiming the United States was founded on what the movement says are Christian principles. The Christian nationalists are pushing policies to reshape the law that they say is just getting the country back to its godly roots, he said.
Their goal, Seidel said, is to maintain power and privilege for conservative white Christians.
“Unfortunately, we know that propaganda works, and one of the ways that it works is by being constantly repeated, even when it is so clearly disproven or proven false,” Seidel said. “That is one of the operating principles of WallBuilders. They are just going to keep pushing no matter how many times scholars come along and correct them and point out that what they’re saying is a lie, or is disinformation or is a myth or is flat out wrong. They’re just going to keep pushing.”
Beckwith referenced WallBuilders, after he faced a strong blowback to comments he made about the Three-Fifths Compromise. In a video he posted to his X account, Beckwith claimed the compromise, which was enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and counted three-fifths of a state’s slave population as part of its total population, was a “great move” because it made sure that slavery would be eradicated from the United States.
An article, “The Bible, Slavery, and America’s Founders,” posted on the WallBuilder’s website, asserts – like Beckwith did – that the Three-Fifths Compromise limited the southern states’ representation in Congress and, in turn, prevented them from having more power.
Historians and legal scholars dispute that. They point out the Three-Fifths Compromise actually gave the South more power on Capitol Hill, which helped to entrench slavery and, eventually, led to the Civil War.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, recapping his first 100 days in office at a news conference on Wednesday, distanced himself from Beckwith’s remarks. “I definitely wouldn’t have used that characterization, and I don’t like it,” Braun said, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Beckwith’s connection to WallBuilders extends to its founder, Barton, who was named by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the most influential evangelicals in the country.
Although Barton bills himself as a historian, his writings have been dismissed by scholars as misrepresenting and distorting historical facts, according to a 2012 article by NPR. Even the publisher of his bestseller, “The Jefferson Lies,” pulled the book from store shelves because it was so riddled with errors and inaccuracies.
Barton, nevertheless, has become an influential force in Republican politics, as he has strived to push Christianity into government. Shortly after being elected speaker of the U.S. House, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana said he had been consulting with Barton, according to a November 2023 article by The Texas Tribune.
Also, Barton has wielded his political power at the state level. The WallBuilders website says that in addition to serving as a consultant for state and federal lawmakers, Barton has played an integral part in developing history and social studies standards for schools in Texas and California.
In March, Barton and his son, Timothy, testified before the Texas Senate in favor of two bills that infused religion into public school classrooms, according to The Texas Tribune. Senate Bill 10 requires schools to display the Ten Commandments and Senate Bill 11 mandates that schools give students time to pray during class.
Indiana House Bill 1231, introduced during the 2025 legislative session, was similar to Texas Senate Bill 10. Authored by Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, the Hoosier measure would have required school corporations to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in each school library and classroom. HB 1231 was never given a hearing and eventually died.
Beckwith, prior to his nomination for lieutenant governor, connected himself to Barton and Chad Connelly of Faith Wins, a conservative organization that promotes involvement of “faith leaders” in government and politics, during an event on Capitol Hill in March 2023. In a post to his Facebook account, Beckwith included photos of a tour given by Barton, which was joined by Speaker-to-be Johnson, former Republican U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen of Ohio and Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina, and said the tour made him feel “incredibly blessed.”
In October 2023, Beckwith hosted Connelly and Barton at Life Church in Noblesville, where he is a lead pastor. Beckwith opened the event by introducing several political candidates who he said had been “called by the Lord to run for office” in the Republican primary for the 3rd and 5th Congressional Districts. Neither of the eventual winners of those races—Marlin Stutzman and Victoria Spartz—appeared. Then Barton spoke to the congregation for more than an hour about the Christian history of the founding of America.
The WallBuilders website purports the view that America was founded as a Christian nation and the Bible was the primary source that guided the Founding Fathers in forming the nation. On its website, it says it eschews “expert opinions” and cites to the original sources and actual historical documents.
“We teach US history and how our beginnings were overwhelmingly rooted in Christian ideology so people can understand our Biblical foundation and stand on the truth that the US was founded on Christian principles,” the website says.
WallBuilders offers resources for churches and governmental and educational institutions, as well as homeschooled students. Also, the website promotes its speakers bureau, sells books and videos, and solicits donations.
According to a ProPublica analysis, WallBuilders recorded a revenue of $5.86 million in 2021, while its expenses reached $3.64 million.
How widely WallBuilders’ educational offerings are used in Indiana is unknown. The Indiana Citizen contacted the Indiana Association of Homeschool Educators, the Indiana Charter School Network and the Indiana Association of School Superintendents multiple times but did not receive any response.
The main focus of Barton and his work has been to tear down the separation between church and state. He has called the separation of church and state a myth and, on the WallBuilders website, contends today’s understanding of the principle is the opposite of what the Founding Fathers intended.
Seidel, of Americans United, said the effort to erode the separation of religion from government is part of the larger push to get conservative, religiously aligned laws passed. WallBuilders joined with other faith-based conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council, when President Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016 and formulated a legislative agenda that ranges from ceremonial bills, like establishing a Religious Freedom Day, to measures that allow states to block LGBTQ+ couples from adopting children.
“They’re definitely dismantling the separation of church and state and they’re using the machinery of the state to impose one religion,” Seidel said, adding that model legislation the groups are promoting are giving privilege to conservative white Christian men. “Once you say that somebody’s religious belief can trump a law that applies to everybody, we no longer live in a country that has the rule of law.”
In August 2024, Beckwith echoed Barton’s views of the separation of church and state.
Posting on LinkedIn, Beckwith claimed the concept of keeping church and state apart was never intended to exclude Christian values from government or schools. He also referenced WallBuilders and said Christian ethics have “historically guided” the government and societal institutions.
“By removing God from our institutions, we lose a sense of shared moral compass leading to a society where individual desires and feelings take precedence over collective values,” Beckwith said. “This shift has contributed to various social problems from the devaluation of life to confusion over personal identity. The phrase ‘separation of church and state’ has been twisted to promote a secular agenda that dismisses the importance of religious principles in public life.”
Seidel countered that opinion, by saying the wall of separation between church and state is a uniquely American trait and was an intentional act by the Founding Fathers. He said the U.S. Constitution was the first governing document in the world to declare that power comes from the people and not God. Moreover, he said, the Constitution is very specific about the separation of church and state with Article Six banning any requirement of a religious test for any public office and the First Amendment guaranteeing the freedom of religion.
“So that idea that our Constitution was founded on Christianity, that we were founded as a Christian nation, is nonsensical and really un-American at its heart,” Seidel said.
Sydney Byerly is a political reporter who grew up in New Albany, Indiana. Before joining The Citizen, Sydney reported news for TheStatehouseFile.com and most recently managed and edited The Corydon Democrat & Clarion News in southern Indiana. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism at Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism (‘Sco Griz!).
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
