Carlos Campo is America’s most influential Christian figure that you’ve probably never heard of. He runs one of the youngest museums dedicated to one of the oldest books — the Bible. Located in the nation’s capital — a city brimming with competing museums — the Museum of the Bible has carved out a fascinating niche balancing scholarly rigor and storytelling; ancient artifacts and accessibility. Since opening its doors in 2017, it has attracted millions of visitors from every imaginable faith tradition, including those with no faith tradition at all.
Campo comes to the role having led two prominent evangelical universities — Ashland and Regent — but is quick to emphasize that the museum is both nonsectarian and nonpartisan. Rather than presenting the Bible through a single religious or ideological lens, he says, the museum aims to let the Bible speak for itself. It’s clear, however, that the museum’s benefactors and Campo believe in the Bible. He speaks about it with a deep appreciation, even a reverence, imbued with an optimism that secular learning can help illuminate and contextualize a fundamentally spiritual text.
I spoke to Campo to learn what has contributed to the museum’s resonance at a moment when the Bible is experiencing a confluence of trends. Bible sales in the United States have climbed alongside online queries related to scripture, all while other reports indicate a slide in American religiosity. The story Campo tells of the Museum of the Bible is one that speaks to these broader social trends, highlighting how scripture and truth can anchor an ever-changing America. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Hal Boyd: How did this come about? How did you get into this role, and what excited you about it?
Carlos Campo: I got involved with the museum well before it opened. The founders were doing traveling exhibits, and they asked me to be a part of one in Cuba. Because my father was born there, and I had never been, I hastily said yes. That was really my first connection with the Museum of the Bible, and it was an extraordinary experience. We did an exhibit in Havana — a place where the Bible hadn’t been publicly displayed in some 50 years. I was asked to be on the board, and then, as the previous CEO was transitioning, I was asked to consider this role. I initially declined, because I was a sitting president at Ashland University and really had a mindset of staying within higher education. But as I say now, God had mercy on me and grace enough not to allow me to miss this opportunity. Today is my 20th month at the museum, and it’s been an extraordinary journey.
HB: What’s your elevator pitch for the museum? How do you introduce it to people?
Campo: My first line is always: It is not what you expect. That’s the typical response from people visiting the museum. It takes nine days to complete a tour of every exhibit at the museum, and our average guest spends four hours here. We look at the Bible through its impact, its narrative and its history. And I say that because a lot of people will say, “Well, gosh, if it’s really about storytelling, that’s what I want to be a part of.” And then I explain that when we talk about storytelling, we do that both by letting the Bible speak for itself through phenomenal artifacts that contain the literal text, and by using technology, music and visual arts to display and convey the fullness of what scripture is all about.
But even though we have 430,000 square feet across seven floors, this extraordinary book cannot be bound by any single museum. It breaks through even our boundaries. And in the space we have, we deliver it as fully as we can, knowing that it’s going to take a few visits to convey the Bible’s immense impact, narrative and history.
HB: Are we in the midst of a biblical retreat or a renaissance?
Campo: Maybe it’s my built-in optimism, but I believe it is a renaissance. And I don’t think there’s any single thing driving this. But I do think that “The Chosen” series has had an impact. I think it has brought a whole new audience. I think about cultural commentators like Jordan Peterson, where the Bible is certainly part of his narrative. Even Joe Rogan seemingly wants to bring in spirituality and has had leading Bible scholars on his show. I think all of these things have led to an intrigue.
It was John Keats who wrote that beauty is truth, truth beauty — that is all we need to know. While people talk about a post-truth society, I would suggest that can never ultimately be the case. People need truth and many find it in the Bible. I come from higher education and there used to be a publication that ranked party schools. It was incredibly successful and many students sought those rankings first. That publication doesn’t exist today. I think what we’re seeing is a return to scripture, but also an overall stabilization — drinking down, teenage pregnancy down — there’s almost a cultural settling taking place in American life. It’s not fully there. There are all kinds of things we could comment on. But I do think there is an inherent ebb and flow to that cultural desire to know truth. And I think we are definitely seeing a renaissance. No surprise that the greatest book of truth ever written is on the rise as well.
HB: Some say we face a crisis of meaning today in America — how does the Bible address it?
The Bible speaks to people where they are. It transcends time. It transcends race. That is one of the most powerful things about it. It has penetrated every culture it has encountered.
Campo: When you consider the big questions, the Bible gets to all of them. What other book in the world starts with “In the beginning” and ends with an apocalyptic vision? The Bible is at the nexus of anyone seeking meaning — this idea of “Who am I? Where do I belong? Where did this all start?” That will never go out of fashion.
The Bible speaks to people where they are. It transcends time. It transcends race. That is one of the most powerful things about it. It has penetrated every culture it has encountered. The Bible has the power to serve as a guide for every person in every culture. It has that capacity to serve as a book of wisdom — this idea that it is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
HB: What does the museum do to reach the next generation?
Campo: People talk about influencers — and we’re all influencers. Every person, every institution, at some level, is influencing, maybe very little or maybe very much. To transmit to the next generation those principles, those truths, those elements that hold a culture together is a tremendous responsibility. And the transcendent power of scripture is that it can transmit these values to every generation that is open to hearing them and reading them — those who hear these words and act upon them.
We look at the development of the Declaration of Independence and consider what role the Bible or the broader Judeo-Christian tradition played even in changes and corrections.
So how do we do it? One of the ways we do it is through educational opportunities. We have kiosks that are essentially games that children can play that educate them about different elements of scripture. I was just talking to a congressman’s wife the other day, and she said, “We’re (at the museum) twice a week.” The children go into the childhood experience area and are pulling down Samson’s pillars. So from a very young age, we’re trying to help young people understand something about scripture.
It feels like there isn’t a sixth grade or an eighth grade or a high school class in America that doesn’t make its way to Washington, D.C. We can welcome students of every background. We have students who are Christian and students of no faith. We have direct programs for Jewish day schools where students come and experience our Hebrew Bible exhibits. Whatever a student’s background, we’re very intentional about building educational programs that, again, speak to the power of scripture. We have a perfume workshop for young people where we talk about different odors or distilled elements — even herbs and spices — that have scriptural references and have been used over the centuries in making perfumes. We have a “Dig Deep” exhibit that we take on the road. It’s an archaeological exhibit that focuses on biblical archaeology.
We say the Bible is a transformative document. We believe that if we can simply present scripture to young people, those stories and histories are gripping for people of any age and every age. The Bible contains the greatest stories ever told. The museum tries to ensure that we’re transmitting those biblical values to the next generation by transmitting the Bible itself.
HB: We’re on the precipice of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. What does the museum plan to do to commemorate the Bible’s role in the nation’s founding?
Campo: We start with education. We have a lecture series with luminaries like Robert George and Os Guinness, and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, exploring the connection between both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament and our nation’s founding. We look at the development of the Declaration and consider what role the Bible or the broader Judeo-Christian tradition played even in changes and corrections. One example that immediately comes to mind is the word “Creator” — “endowed by their Creator.” It was not in the earliest version. Why was it placed there, and what role did the Bible have in shaping that language?
And, of course, well before our founding as a nation, the Bible was impacting cultures all over the world. We had the Armenian ambassador here speaking with us. He donated a Bible and said, “Let’s make sure that we trumpet the fact that Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity.” But certainly in 2026, when the whole town turns red, white and blue, we’ll be trying to tell the story of the impact of the Bible on our founding. We’ll have military Bibles and presidential Bibles, and we want the words to speak for themselves. We think the Bible can speak for itself, and we think the Bible will declare for itself its leading role in our founding.
But the Bible has to speak and be understood. This year we’re using the phrase, “We hold these truths are not self-evident.” We think those truths were primarily evident to the founders because of the Bible. If you look at the very heart of the root of those truths, if you dig down as deep as you can, you will find scripture.
HB: Many traditions revere the Bible. Do you see the museum as fostering religious pluralism and religious freedom?
Campo: The God the Bible conveys is this extraordinary freedom — the freedom to choose, even with the consequences that we read about in the very opening section of the book. And so we do think this is a tremendously important element, and that often the Bible has been used as a cudgel instead of an invitation. You know, “the Bible says this, so one should do this.” We think the Bible is an invitation for people to see the intersection of a noncontingent being described as God — a name so holy that, of course, some traditions do not even pronounce it. That noncontingent being that we call God, others call Yahweh, others may use another name, is telling a story — a story that we believe is a love story that reconciles mankind to God. And it is a story that pronounces us as eternal beings. As C.S. Lewis put it: “You have never met a mere mortal.” And so we do believe that religious plurality and religious freedom are inherent parts of what the Bible conveys. And we try to highlight that in the museum as well.
HB: What still amazes you about the museum?
Campo: I spoke to a colleague who worked at the White House, and they admonished her to take the stairs. They said, in effect, always walk up the White House steps because every day you should absorb the inspiration of this place. They said the day you don’t feel inspired walking up those historic stairs is the last day you should work in the White House. I’ll tell you, whether it’s because of that story or because I try to get at least 10,000 steps in a day, I have that same feeling here. It’s not the same object every day, but something inspires me as I walk up the steps every day.
Museums have unfortunately been conflated in some people’s minds with mausoleums — places where artifacts and ideas come to die. We try to put forward the idea that museums truly are places of inspiration. That’s what we are all about. We want people to come and truly be inspired so that, after four hours, they hunger and thirst after this book. We say to people that however you spend the days of your life, you’ll never regret diving deeper into this book — the most read, most published, most stolen, most controversial, most powerful book ever written.
Today, when I walked in, I was inspired by what we currently have in the museum — the mosaic floor from what is considered the earliest Christian worship space ever discovered. It dates to around A.D. 230 and includes a reference to the deity of Jesus in its inscription. We brought it from Israel to our museum some months ago. When I think about my forefathers and foremothers in Christ worshiping Jesus on that floor, it moves me deeply. And now it sits on the first floor of our museum, free to the public. While it costs money to enter the galleries, we made that first floor free. Anyone can come in, because our mission is to invite all people to engage with the transformative power of the Bible. That mosaic floor is definitely an inspiring piece for me. Incredible.
We try to put forward the idea that museums truly are places of inspiration. That’s what we are all about.
HB: You come from a family of entertainers — your mother was a Clooney. So my question has two parts. First, is there a role for entertainment in this space? And second, has your cousin George Clooney ever walked through the doors of the Museum of the Bible?
Campo: I’ll take the second one first, since it’s the easier answer: no. I haven’t convinced George to come — yet. I’m still hopeful. I’d love for him to visit, and maybe one day he will.
As for the first question, it’s an interesting tension. I actually think amusement can be the opposite of what we’re trying to do. We walk a fine line, because so much of our culture has drifted toward amusement — toward things that simply occupy our time rather than elevate it. Museums, at their best, are meant to inspire. Amusement distracts; inspiration draws you in and lifts you upward.
That said, entertainment is not the enemy. The Bible itself is kaleidoscopic in its variety, so it wouldn’t make sense to present it in only one mode. I’m always struck by how different visitors connect to different things. One person will say, “My favorite part was that 11th-century illustrated Bible. I sat there for two hours just pondering it.” Someone else will say, “It was the immersive, modern creation exhibit — the one with the Van Gogh–style visuals, the powerful sound, the sweeping imagery. It moved me in a way nothing else has.”
Both experiences matter. What we care about most is inspiration. If an engaging or immersive approach helps point people toward something transcendent — toward something lasting and true — then it serves the mission. The key is that the experience, however presented, ultimately directs people beyond entertainment to something deeper. That’s always the goal at the museum.
This story appears in the April 2026 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.