Tennessee Senate Passes the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act”
Tennessee Today

Charlie Kirk on his Comeback Tour at the University of Tennessee on March 13, 2025 (Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel)

On Thursday, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill dubbed the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act” which allows public schools to teach the positive impacts of religion throughout American history, although it does not require schools to adopt any specific curriculum.

Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) described the purpose of Senate Bill 1828 simply, stating that it is so “when we teach American history that we make sure that our kids understand the role that religion and faith had to do with that history.”

The bill lists nineteen specific historical instances of the positive influence of religion on America, including, but not limited to, the Mayflower Compact, the Civil Rights Movement, and the concept of the separation of church and state. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Paul Rose (R-Covington), emphasized multiple stories of the positive impact of religion in America, reading them into the record of the Senate Education committee, saying that there are “hundreds if not thousands of historical examples.”

The act is named to honor late conservative activist Charlie Kirk who was assassinated on September 10, 2025. Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, a national conservative youth movement that is credited with the growing popularity of MAGA within Gen Z. He was also an outspoken evangelical Christian, once telling a podcast host that “I wanna be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.” Kirk believed that “The West is the best because of Christianity. We must seek Christ first, and our national and cultural resurgence will naturally follow. For America to be great, we must remain majority Christian.” The “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act” seeks to allow for that view of the positive influence of Judeo-Christian values on America to be reflected in school curriculum. 

In the Senate Education Committee, Lakie Derrick, a current candidate for the Sullivan County Commission and the founder of East Tennessee State’s Turning Point chapter, and Ben Mason, a junior at Providence Academy in Johnson City, testified on behalf of the bill. Derrick described herself as someone who understands that “our rights are not given to us by our government, but are endowed by our Creator,” going on to emphasize the importance of understanding the role of Judeo-Christian values in America’s political history. Mason testified second stating that, “I believe it is crucial that all of America sees and understands this: the morals and values that represent the fabric of America transcends human thinking” and expressed that he believed it was important to understand these foundations whether or not one believes in Christian teachings.

Loud applause erupted from the audience upon passage of the bill through the Senate Education Committee. The legislation then went on to easily pass the Senate on March 19, with a vote of 27-6.

The “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act” now heads to the House for consideration.