Lutz points out something even more striking: the bible was hardly cited in the constitutional debates. In 528 writings published during the formative years of the American Constitution (1787–88), there were thirty-three citations to the bible, or about one in every sixteen publications.36 Lutz concluded that when looking for biblical influence in the framing of our founding document, “the Bible’s prominence disappears, which is not surprising since the debate centered upon specific institutions about which the Bible has little to say.”37
