'Hot for the Lord': 4 times Chuck Norris publicly proclaimed his faith in Christ

2. Norris advocated for Bible studies in schools

In a 2013 op-ed for NewsBusters, Norris advocated for the inclusion of Bible studies in public schools, insisting that the idea was not inconsistent with the principles of the Founding Fathers, specifically Thomas Jefferson.

While he acknowledged that “Jefferson thought it best that (religious education) not be included among the curricula in the earliest stages of children’s schooling,” Norris stressed that “Jefferson, who is regarded today by so many as the ‘great separatist,’ did not separate religious education and expression from public education.”

“In fact, he was against limiting education and stifling Americans’ freedoms in any form, including religious expression and education,” he added. Norris pondered what Jefferson might have thought about contemporary public education in the U.S., where the Bible is “scorned and prohibited.”

Norris, who served on the board of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, included multiple quotes from Jefferson’s 1785 book Notes on the State of Virginia in his column. Jefferson’s writings indicated that he opposed “putting the Bible and the Testament into the hands of children at an age when their judgments are not sufficiently matured for religious enquiries” while supporting the inclusion of “the first elements of morality” in their minds to be “further developed as their judgments advance in strength.”