Rush fought for temperance, and both public and Sunday schools. He helped found the Bible Society at Philadelphia (now known as the Pennsylvania Bible Society), and promoted the American Sunday School Union. When many public schools stopped using the Bible as a textbook, Rush proposed that the U.S. government require such use, as well as furnish an American Bible to every family at public expense. In 1806, Rush proposed inscribing "The Son of Man Came into the World, Not To Destroy Men's Lives, But To Save Them." above the doors of courthouses and other public buildings. Earlier, on July 16, 1776, Rush had complained to Virginia's Patrick Henry about a provision in that state's constitution of 1776 which forbade clergymen from serving in the legislature.