David and Tim Barton are a father and son team of “historians.” David Barton was named an expert content advisor to the Texas State Board of Education during its writing of social studies courses in the Texas public schools. David Barton is a former vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party the founder of WallBuilders, a Christian nationalist group advocacy group that says “American liberty is being eroded” and that the USA’s “biblical foundation is under constant attack.” David Barton says that their is no wall of separation between Church and State and that the USA was founded as a Christian country. He says that WallBuilders will “exert a direct and positive influence in government, education, and the family by educating the nation concerning the Godly foundation of our country.”
Mark A. Chancey, a religion scholar at Southern Methodist University said that “This is no longer a fringe movement. This is not the next big thing. Christian nationalism is here, and it is deeply entrenched in our government in ways that should concern all Americans, regardless of their views on religion.”
Barton attracted a lot of attention in 2012 for his book The Jefferson Lies. His book was pulled from the shelves by his Christian publisher when it was condemned by Christian scholars because of its Inaccuracy. According to Garrett Epps in the Atlantic Magazine in 2012; “For at least the past 20 years, Barton has been a tireless producer of books and pamphlets designed to demonstrate that America was founded by Christians and should be governed by Christians, that the separation of church and state is a myth, and that Protestant Christianity should be a part of government. In that time, he has come to occupy a position of influence within the Republican Party. His success is appalling, first because he is not a historian of any kind (his sole degree is from Oral Roberts University in religious education), and second because, even by the standards of today’s right wing, he is an obvious crackpot.” Apparently, not anymore.
Epps writes “If you doubt me, consider that in his 2000 book Original Intent: The Courts, The Constitution, and Religion, Barton explains that the religious faith of the Founders has been deliberately obscured by a sinister godless cabal of historians. As one item of evidence, he cites the musical comedy 1776, which shows Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin dancing around the stage and singing silly songs about the Declaration of Independence. “There is absolutely no evidence to support any of these exchanges,” Barton sniffs. If that’s not crazy enough for you, consider that he once claimed that John Randolph of Roanoke, one of the most influential Jeffersonians during the early Republic, was a secret Muslim.”
Barton has been called one of the 25 most influential Evangelicals in the United States according to Time and has been an advisor to Michelle Bachman and Newt Gingrich. Time said that Barton is “a major voice in the debate over church–state separation.”
In an April 2025 podcast David Barton said he had met with “individuals from the White House” to talk about the Smithsonian. On January 6, 2026 David and Tim had a discussion on their podcast about a request from the White House to identify ideologically incorrect material from the Smithsonian. Tim said “there’s some crazy stuff there.” David Barton said that Tim had turned over to the White House “how bad the stuff was, how misleading it was.” On June 1, 2026 Tim Barton said they were helping the White House with another “initiative” as a “rebuttal” to the Smithsonian on the 250th Birthday of the United States. The couple was also contacted by House Republicans for questions to ask the leader of the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History during recent Congressional hearings.
Barry Loudermilk said in July that “Let’s just let David Barton… or some of these others obtain some of the artifacts that [the Smithsonian has]… And let’s just let those guys run our national museums.”
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