Too many students graduate college without understanding the fundamental ideas that shape our republic: liberty, justice, and self-governance. Utah is boldly leading the charge in restoring a meaningful civic education that equips students with the knowledge and ideas that have made America a beacon of freedom.
With strong bipartisan support, the Utah legislature passed Senate Bill 334 to establish the Center for Civic Excellence at Utah State University. This is more than a state policy — it’s a blueprint for the nation. By restoring civic education, Utah is ensuring future generations understand and are equipped to uphold the principles that built the freest and most prosperous society in human history.
A free society cannot sustain itself if its citizens do not understand the principles upon which it was built. S.B. 334 is not another generic call for more civics. It establishes a structured curriculum that immerses students in the intellectual traditions that shaped our nation and the Western world. Students at Utah State University will complete:
- Twelve credit hours in Western civilization and the humanities, studying thinkers from Greece and Rome, through the Christian and medieval periods, to the Renaissance and Enlightenment.
- A three-credit course on American civics, engaging with foundational texts such as the Magna Carta, The Federalist Papers, and works of John Locke, Montesquieu, and Alexis de Tocqueville.
Critics often ask, “Why study thinkers from centuries ago?” The answer is simple: because the greatest struggles for justice and liberty have always drawn from the wisdom of the past.
Martin Luther King Jr., in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, cited St. Thomas Aquinas and Locke to argue that unjust laws conflict with a higher moral order. King did not reject America’s founding principles — he demanded that the country live up to them. He appealed to the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to advocate civil rights.
The education envisioned by S.B. 334 will equip future generations with the intellectual tools to follow King’s example, not by discarding the past but by drawing upon it to confront the challenges of the present. These are the ideas that fueled every great social movement in American history. They must not be forgotten.
Former President John Adams cautioned, “Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” Utah’s bold step ensures that liberty is not lost on future generations.
A genuine civic education does not train students merely for a job — it prepares them for life in a self-governing republic.
- Critical thinking: Studying the foundational debates of Western civilization sharpens analytical skills, helping students assess historical and contemporary issues with depth and perspective.
- Civil discourse: Engaging with great thinkers teaches students to debate ideas respectfully, an essential skill in a democratic society.
- Appreciation of free institutions: Understanding the ideas that shaped our nation fosters a deep commitment to preserving and improving them.
As former President Thomas Jefferson warned, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Without civic education, America risks producing generations unprepared to uphold the responsibilities of citizenship.
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Former President James Madison declared, “A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.”
If America is to remain a beacon of freedom, we must restore a civic education that is worthy of our republic. Utah has lit the path forward. It is time for our nation to remember the wisdom of the past so that we can move boldly into the future.
J. Stuart Adams has been the president of the Utah Senate since 2018 and a state legislator since 2010.
Mike Schultz has been the speaker of the Utah House of Representatives since 2023 and a state legislator since 2015.
John D. Johnson has been a Utah state senator since 2021 and was the sponsor of S.B. 334. Since 2012, he has worked as a professor of management information systems at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.