This article provides an overview of the socio-political, cultural, and historical characteristics of the relationship between conservative Christians and the American system of public education; describes the influence of fundamentalist views on contemporary conservative Christians; and recounts the historical relationship between the Religious Right and American public schools. Specifically, the article examines several policy issues advanced by conservative Christians, analyzes developments in legal strategies employed by the Religious Right to influence public school curricula over the past century, and considers how vestiges of the Judeo-Christian roots of American public education continue to influence school policy and discourse despite claims to the contrary by contemporary fundamentalist Christians. The article concludes with a critique of the fundamentalist approach to education and an argument for taking seriously the need to defend democratic aims of public education against fundamentalist challenges.