The Tennessean
A rare edition of the Bible recently named one of Tennessee’s first official state books is an integral part of a nationwide movement to erode the separation of church and state.
The Aitken Bible, an edition of the King James Bible often dubbed the “Bible of the Revolution” thanks to its status as the first English-language Bible printed in an independent United States, was named one of 10 official states books in late April, the first state to do so.
While the antique edition is far from a household name, its presence is increasingly common within conservative Christian political circles, with many supporters using it to blur the long-held boundaries between church and state.
Proponents of the Aitken Bible have embarked on an aggressive lobbying campaign in recent years to boost its prominence, meeting with and presenting copies to top Republican officials in Tennessee and across the country, ranging from local representatives to governors and even a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
In Tennessee, top GOP officials — including Gov. Bill Lee, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn — all have received copies, as have at least five members of the state’s U.S. House delegation and more than two dozen state lawmakers.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, and former Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster, are listed as founding members of the First American Bible Project, and its Franklin-based nonprofit Aitken Bible Historical Foundation, the largest Aitken Bible reproduction printer in the world, according to social media posts made by the group.
Stephen Skelton, founder of the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation and the First American Bible Project, said the group aims to provide the Bible to schools and lawmakers as a historical resource.
“Not as the devotional application, but rather as an object lesson that the teachers will use with topics they’re already teaching about the economic factors of the American Revolution,” he said in an interview.
Although Skelton insists his group’s work is strictly historical and nonpartisan, he has personally expressed skepticism about the separation between church and state and pointed to the Aitken Bible to back up his views.
Experts and historians have called the rise of the Aitken Bible’s popularity a “misrepresentation” of history, and First Amendment experts have expressed concern about its use in eroding the wall between church and state.
“This new law is mostly symbolic, but I do think it violates the spirit of the First Amendment and also the Tennessee State Constitution, which says that no preference shall be given to any religious establishment or mode of worship,” said Ryan Jayne, senior policy counsel at the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “I think there is an intent to favor Christianity, but they are trying to couch this in a historical context. …They wanted to include (this book) to try to go along with this myth that the Founders intended to create a Christian country.”
Proponents push Aitken Bible with state, national lawmakers
Under the glitzy ceiling of Mar-A-Lago — the historic Florida resort now famous for serving as former President Donald Trump’s residence — Skelton presented his original copy of the Aitken Bible to attendees at an early March fundraiser.
The private event served as the annual fundraiser for the 917 Society — a nonprofit that supplies school children with pocket Constitutions and one which Skelton often partners with.
For the First American Bible project, which allows donors to receive a copy of the book with a sponsorship of a one sent into a public school of their choosing, the event served mostly as a photo opportunity for donors to see the historic book. But it also showed just how well connected the Aitken Bible movement is within conservative political circles.
A review of the First American Bible Project’s website shows photos of meet-and-greets between Skelton and nearly every high-ranking Republican official in Tennessee at private dinners, campaign events and events held at the state Capitol that go back years.
Tennessee Senators associated with the Aitken Bible
At least 15 of the 27 Senate Republicans have received copies of, or have been photographed with, an Aitken Bible, along with at least 14 of the 75 House Republicans. The Tennessean could find no Democrats in either chamber who received or were photographed with an Aitken Bible.
Some of these meetings happened shortly before legislation was passed this year elevating the book to an official state symbol.
Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, and Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, the two sponsors of the Tennessee bill, were pictured numerous times with the First American Bible Project months before filing the bill.
Rose’s support of the Aitken Bible has gone back years, with a 2022 social media post showing him meeting with Skelton and Weaver, the former state lawmaker. The post references Rose’s gift of “five (Aitken Bibles) to five superintendents,” which helped “open the doors to put 97 (Aitken Bibles) back into schools.”
On top of members of the General Assembly, photos show numerous county and city mayors across the state meeting with Skelton, as well as expressing support for the inclusion of the Aitken Bible in secular settings. Similar photos show a host of county Republican groups with the Bible, including the Claiborne County GOP, which showcased it at their 2024 Freedom Dinner and called the Aitken Bible “a solution by patriots for patriots.”
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