Are You Aware? Founding Faith
This is part I in our “Freedom of Religion” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here.
It is a common misconception that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation” and that the founders intended it as such. It is true that the American colonies were largely established by Christians and that Christianity had a profound effect on the architects of the nation. But history does not support the claim that our government ever was, or was intended to be, Christian by those who conceived of and orchestrated its emergence.
It was, in part, the oppression felt from both the British monarchy, with their supposed “divine right of kings,” as well as pressures from powerful state-sponsored religious bodies, that helped catalyze the American Revolution. Many of the settlers coming to America left Britain at a time when the “divine right of kings” was hotly debated. It has been suggested that had major emigration happened in the preceding century, there may have been less resistance to the monarchy. Distance, both in terms of generations passed and space, also made the ground fertile for the emergence of something new. By the end of the 18th century, there was little affection or loyalty remaining for the mother country. Many of the colonists were already considered dissenters based on the fact that they were chiefly Protestant. Protestantism relied heavily on claims to natural liberty and private judgment.
Unlike the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States is intentionally and painstakingly secular, with no mention of deity. The power of our government, it states, is derived solely from “we the people.” It is “ordained and established” by the will of the citizenry and stands or falls on their willingness to participate. Lest we think there was no tension then between church and state, even at the time of its writing, the Constitution and the Constitutional Convention were criticized for the lack of Christian language and rationale in the document. Indeed, all through the 19th century attempts were made to “remedy” this fact. People claiming that our Constitution was inherently Christian is a more recent phenomenon.
To understand the rationale behind the secular nature of the Constitution, it may be helpful to understand the men who conceived of and contributed to the formation of our government, and to know something about their ideals, and thoughts on religion and faith, and their place in the public realm.
Although the term “Founding Fathers” is often used to describe, more broadly, the leaders of the thirteen colonies toward independence and the framers of the Constitution, historians have identified seven men as key figures based on the critical roles they played and their substantive contributions to the formation of the U.S. government: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. For my purposes, I am also going to include Thomas Paine.
Before we dive into the lives and thinking of these individuals, I would like to explain a philosophical movement that was prevalent during the 17th and 18th centuries: deism. Deism acknowledges the existence of a supreme being, or creator, but argues that this divine being rarely, if ever, interacts with humankind. It rejects revelation as a source of religious knowledge and instead asserts that reason and observation supply sufficient evidence of providence. The founders, generally speaking, fell into three schools of thought: devout Christians, Christian-deists (the majority — who considered Christianity the most valuable system of morals and explanation of cosmic justice), and deists.
Thomas Paine
It has been said, “Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.”
Paine’s pamphlet, “Common Sense,” was the most widely read work in the western world aside from the Bible. It is credited for fomenting the American Revolution. Though his writings earned tens of thousands of dollars, Paine sent all profits to Congress to fund the war effort. Paine is sometimes eschewed from being considered a Founding Father. This may be because, though he was a man of faith, he held and sometimes espoused views that were anti-religious and even anti-Christian. “All national institutions of churches,” he said, “whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” Paine’s Deism was, and often still is, confused with atheism.
Ironically, Paine relied heavily on biblical imagery in his writing of “Common Sense.” Among other things, it depended on references to Moses leading the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt, with little self-awareness of the colonists’ treatment of Native Americans or enslaved Africans. In many ways, “Common Sense” was the beginning of Americans’ belief in manifest destiny.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, who we know as the author of the Declaration of Independence, also served as a diplomat and the third U.S. president. He had extreme interests in theology, morality, and religious studies. He held a general agreement with the precepts of Christianity and viewed it as “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.”
Jefferson felt the teachings of Jesus had been contaminated by political agendas over the ages. Though he was sometimes criticized for his unorthodox religious beliefs, he referred to himself as a Christian. But he would also describe himself as an “Epicurean,” a “materialist, a “Unitarian,” and “a sect by myself.” Though he believed in a single God, in providence, in divine moral law, and in consequences related to actions after death, he did not believe in the miracles or divinity of Jesus. Though Jefferson never referred to himself as a deist, these beliefs were fairly common for deists of his day.
Jefferson believed the separation of church and state was essential, in that this protected the people from tyranny and the denial of rights of those who did not support state-sponsored religion. “Our civil rights,” he said, “have no dependence on religious opinions.” He fought against attempts in Virginia to assess taxes to support churches. He coined the phrase “wall of separation between Church and State,” which has been cited several times by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Establishment Clause.
He believed the government had power to restrict religious ideals only when they violated the rights of individuals. “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
He also declared that America was unique, in the sense that it put all religions “on an equal footing.”
Next, I’d like to turn to the authors of “The Federalist Papers,” a series of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison to promote the ratification of the new Constitution. They are considered the preeminent commentary on the philosophy and substance of the Constitution.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton, founder of the nation’s financial system and first secretary of the treasury, wrote 51 of the 85 federalist papers. Hamilton’s religious life framed his political career. Deeply devout as a young man, he became more religiously skeptical in the middle of his life. He returned to his religious roots again later in his life, as his political ambitions were frustrated by the revelations of an extramarital affair and the death of his son.
As a deist, Hamilton was distrustful of organized religion, seeing the potential of tyranny. He was fully aware that some of the most heinous crimes in history had been carried out in the name of God. But he was also the writer of an important text on the place of religion in public life: George Washington’s Farewell Address. A notable excerpt of this address reads:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
John Jay
John Jay, who co-authored the Federalist Papers and later became first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was perhaps among the most devout of the Founding Fathers. His views of our nation may most closely reflect the ideas of a Christian nation. Jay, whose ancestors left France due to religious persecution, was a deeply religious follower of the Anglican church. After the revolution, adherents remained true to the Anglican church but became known as Episcopalian.
Jay’s family history likely had a strong influence on his feelings about governmental oppression and also gave him antipathy for the Catholic church. Ironically, at one point he proposed construction of “a wall of brass around the country for the exclusion of Catholics.” Though he believed the Bible literally, he felt strongly that churches should not participate in the making of civil laws. He also believed a person’s spiritual life was personal, between God and that individual, and not limited to the intercession of the clergy.
Jay believed the most effective way to ensure world peace was through the spread of the Christian gospel. He said:
Real Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others, and therefore will not provoke war. Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise or virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.
However, he also said of slavery, and it may be applicable here: “To contend for our own liberty, and to deny that blessing to others, involves an inconsistency not to be excused.”
James Madison
James Madison, known as the “Father of the Constitution” and fourth president of the U.S., was the third author of the Federalist Papers. Religiously, he is a bit of an enigma but considered a Christian-deist. He rarely spoke about his own faith during his time in office and was cautious about offering any theological opinions. Though he was raised in the Episcopal church, influenced by Presbyterianism, and even considered entering the clergy, he felt he was more suited for the law.
From what we do know, Madison held a more intellectual view of Christianity, seeing reason and faith as working together in tandem for the glory of God. He felt religious belief was “essential to the moral order of the World and to the happiness of man.”
In another rare instance of affirming his own beliefs, Madison wrote:
It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such only, as he believes to be acceptable to him. This duty is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.
Madison wrote often of the “perfect separation,” “total separation,” and the “line of separation” that should exist between church and state. He credited Martin Luther’s doctrine of two kingdoms for leading the way in providing the distinction between civil and ecclesiastical spheres.
Benjamin Franklin
It is interesting to note that it was Benjamin Franklin, inventor, diplomat, and statesman, who suggested prayers be offered at the Constitutional Convention, when political rancor was at its height. Famously known as a deist, and perhaps the representative figure of the American Enlightenment, he also considered himself a Christian and believed God intervened in human affairs on occasion. Raised in a devout Puritan home, Franklin believed in the virtuous effects of faith in the lives of those who practiced.
Of his own faith, Franklin wrote shortly before his death:
Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable Service we render to him, is doing Good to his other Children. That the Soul of Man is immortal, and will be treated with Justice in another Life respecting its Conduct in this…As for Jesus of Nazareth…I think the system of Morals and Religion as he left them to us, the best the World ever saw…but I have…some Doubts to his Divinity; though’ it is a Question I do not dogmatism upon, having never studied it, and think it is needless to busy myself with it now, where I expect soon an Opportunity of knowing the Truth with less Trouble.
It is important to consider that Franklin’s suggestion of prayer at the Constitutional Convention was not initially well received. A debate broke out concerning the motion, and it was never voted on. Franklin himself wrote that the Convention “except for three or four persons, thought prayers unnecessary.” However, the first Congress appointed a chaplain and began with a prayer, a tradition that has continued to this day.
Franklin was horrified by the thought of a world void of religion. “If Men are so wicked as we now see them with Religion what would they be if without it?” There may be a few people, he thought, who would live a virtuous life without religion, but most of the world, he believed, was made of ignorant people who needed religious instruction to “restrain them from Vice, and to retain them in the practice of [virtue] till it becomes habitual.”
Franklin, however, was also a proponent of the separation of church and state. “[T]he number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood, & the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church from the State,” he said.
George Washington
George Washington, general, “Father of Our Country,” and first president of the U.S., was born into an Anglican family. He attended church when he could during the Revolution but was not particular about the denomination. He arranged to have chaplains for his men and led services himself when one wasn’t available. He helped establish a church in the neighborhood of Mount Vernon but only attended about once a month, as it was some distance from his home. Washington also held deistic beliefs and was a freemason. When looking to hire workmen for Mount Vernon, he wrote to his agent, “If they be good workmen, they may be from Asia, Africa, or Europe; they may be Mohammedans, Jews, or Christians of any sect, or they may be Atheists.”
Some biographers believe Washington held that as the leader of the nation, he should remain silent on questions of theology and denominational preference. As far as the role of religion in government, Washington believed God was the only one owed an explanation for one’s personal religious beliefs. He said:
If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed in the Convention, where I had the honor to preside, might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society, certainly I would never have placed my signature to it….
He also said that “in this land the light of truth and reason have triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart.”
John Adams
John Adams, first vice president and second president of the U.S., was the son of a deacon and the son-in-law of a minister. Much of what we know of the religious views of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams is from their mutual correspondence. Though he was a skeptic, religion was important to John Adams, and he shared many of the same attitudes toward religion that Jefferson espoused.
Like Franklin, Adams believed in the utility of religion and its powerful role in preserving us from our own fallen natures. “Without religion this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite society, I mean hell.” But according to one biographer, “He became convinced that while God loved a good argument, Christian leaders didn’t, preferring to rule through intimidation rather than persuasion.” He had no patience for institutionalized religion or doctrinal controversies, yet he was a regular church-goer.
As president, Adams presented a different image, and he was probably the most overtly religious of our early presidents. But he recognized the difference between religion as speech and the limited role it should play in lawmaking. “The government of the United States of America,” he said, “is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
Religion and the Constitution today
It should be appreciated that while our own religious forbearers suffered at the hands of the intolerant, the Constitution of the United States also made it possible for our religion to emerge from the environment created by the Enlightenment. Last weekend in General Conference, President Oaks reminded us that:
“There was divine inspiration in the original provision that there should be no religious test for public office, but the addition of religious freedom and anti-establishment guarantees in the First Amendment was vital [to the restoration of the gospel].”
While we can appreciate the fact that we have the opportunity to worship as our hearts and minds direct, we must also realize that the Constitution provides those same rights to everyone — and that our own freedom of religion ends where the rights of another begin. Unless we feel comfortable with those of another religion practicing and commemorating their beliefs in the same ways we wish to do so for ourselves, we the people should not prescribe to those practices.
Molly Cannon Hadfield is a moderator for the Facebook discussion group for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
