Far Right Watch: David Barton

David Barton is a former school teacher and self-proclaimed historian who was once named one of the 25 “most influential evangelicals in America” by Time magazine. He is also the president of WallBuilders, a Christian-advocacy organization based in Aledo, Texas, that opposes the separation of church and state. Barton is well-connected within the Republican party, and his organizing of like-minded evangelicals has helped shift the GOP’s base in Texas (and nationally) farther to the right.

• Affiliations
  • Founder of WallBuilders, a Christian-advocacy organization based in Aledo, Texas
    • His son, Tim Barton, is currently the president
  • Former vice chair of the Republican Party of Texas 
  • Former director of Keep the Promise PAC
  • 2025 Texas State Board of Education Content Advisor 
  • Named one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Evangelicals” by Time Magazine
• Follow the Money…
  • It should first be noted that as a 501(c)(3), WallBuilders does not have to publicly disclose its donors, but it reported $6M in revenue in 2021.
  • As director of Keep the Promise PAC, Barton oversaw Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign. The PAC received $15M from donor Farris Wilks.
  • The Wilks family also granted WallBuilders $3.14M through the Thirteen Foundation
• Controversies 
  • “We could correlate that when the court made certain decisions on values, we would see subsequent corresponding changes in societal indicators,” Barton once wrote for a Christian Coalition newsletter. “Like when you took the Ten Commandments out, violent crime went up.”
  • Barton founded WallBuilders in 1989, which seeks to educate Americans about “the Godly foundation of our country,” to help government officials “develop public policies which reflect Biblical values,” and encourage “Christians to be involved in the civic arena.”
  • Author of Myth of Separation, in which Barton argues that the constitutional separation of church and state in America is a “myth”
  • Barton is a self-described historian, but his book The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson was pulled by the publisher because it contained numerous inaccuracies.
    • It should also be noted his academic degree is in Christian Education, not history
  • Barton has long been entrenched in the Texas State Board of Education, calling the debate over evolutionary science a “death struggle between civilizations,” and most recently, as a content advisor helping craft new social studies curriculum standards. 
  • Barton is frequently a featured speaker and organizer at political events targeting conservative pastors, such as the Texas Restoration Project or “Renewal Projects” in presidential battleground states, apparently attempting to  mobilize evangelical Christian conservatives through their pastors and congregations for political means. 
  • Barton has several ties to politicians of the Christian far right, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and is a frequent guest on Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s podcast.