R. J. Rushdoony

Rousas John Rushdoony (April 25, 1916 – February 8, 2001) was an Calvinist philosopher, historian, and theologian. He is credited as being the father of Christian Reconstructionism and an inspiration for the modern Christian homeschool movement. His followers and critics have argued that his thought exerts considerable influence on the evangelical Christian right.

Rushdoony was born in 1916 in New York City to Armenian immigrants who fled the Armenian genocide. Coming from a long line of Christian ministers, he grew up in a deeply religious environment, initially within the Armenian Apostolic Church before his family converted to Presbyterianism. His early education involved mastering English while maintaining Armenian at home, and he developed a lifelong engagement with the Bible, reading it extensively as a teenager. After completing his studies in California, including a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education from UC Berkeley, he attended the Pacific School of Religion and was ordained in 1944, beginning a life of ministry, scholarship, and missionary work.

Rushdoony and his first wife Arda served as missionaries to the Shoshone and Paiute on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, during which time he began writing extensively. After returning to California, he became involved in the Christian libertarian movement, contributing to publications critical of centralized government and public welfare programs. His ministry continued in Santa Cruz, where he helped form a new Orthodox Presbyterian congregation, and later he founded the Chalcedon Foundation in Los Angeles in 1965. Through Chalcedon and his collaborations with figures like Gary North, he promoted Christian Reconstructionism, emphasizing the application of biblical law to society and education while critiquing secularism and modern democratic principles.

Rushdoony's theological and philosophical work extended across education, history, and politics, promoting a Calvinist worldview that emphasized human dependence on God and the application of Old Testament law to modern society. He was a major advocate for homeschooling and argued that American history and governance were rooted in Christian principles. His ideas have been highly controversial, drawing criticism for his support of harsh penal sanctions, his views on race and slavery, and his Holocaust-related claims.