Summary: Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, declared 1983 as the “Year of the Bible” to honor its profound influence on the nation’s history and character. He emphasized the Bible’s role in shaping early settlers’ strength, the Founding Fathers’ belief in individual rights, and the nation’s institutional and governmental expressions of compassion and love for others. Reagan encouraged citizens to rediscover the Bible’s timeless message and its role in guiding the nation through challenges. This proclamation, in response to a Congressional resolution, aimed to recognize and celebrate the Bible’s significance in the United States.
RONALD REAGAN
40th President of the United States: 1981 ‐ 1989
Proclamation 5018—Year of the Bible, 1983
February 03, 1983
By the President of the United States of America
Reagan’s Proclamation
Text
Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.
Deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible inspired many of the early settlers of our country, providing them with the strength, character, convictions, and faith necessary to withstand great hardship and danger in this new and rugged land. These shared beliefs helped forge a sense of common purpose among the widely dispersed colonies—a sense of community which laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades.
The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers’ abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible’s teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual. This same sense of man patterned the convictions of those who framed the English system of law inherited by our own Nation, as well as the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
For centuries the Bible’s emphasis on compassion and love for our neighbor has inspired institutional and governmental expressions of benevolent outreach such as private charity, the establishment of schools and hospitals, and the abolition of slavery.
Many of our greatest national leaders-among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson—have recognized the influence of the Bible On our country’s development. The plainspoken Andrew Jackson referred to the Bible as no less than “the rock on which our Republic rests.” Today our beloved America and, indeed, the world, is facing a decade of enormous challenge. As a people we may well be tested as we have seldom, if ever, been tested before. We will need resources of spirit even more than resources of technology, education, and armaments. There could be no more fitting moment than now to reflect with gratitude, humility, and urgency upon the wisdom revealed to us in the writing that Abraham Lincoln called “the best gift God has ever given to man … But for it we could not know right from wrong.”
The Congress of the United States, in recognition of the unique contribution of the Bible in shaping the history and character of this Nation, and so many of its citizens, has by Senate Joint Resolution 165 authorized and requested the President to designate the year 1983 as the “Year of the Bible.”
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States. I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventh.
Signature of Ronald Reagan
RONALD REAGAN
Read more:
- Is the Bible indictable-Anny Besant-1877
- List of the Bible versions
- Stupid’s Bible: Ridiculous Contradictions
- The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (The Jefferson Bible) by Thomas Jefferson [1902]