Were the Founders Religious?|5 Minute Video
What did the Founding Fathers believe about faith? Were they Christians, or just deists? Did they believe in secularism, or did they want Americans to be religious? Joshua Charles, New York Times bestselling author and scientist at the Museum of the Bible, discusses.
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Script:
What were the religions of the Founding Fathers of the United States?
There’s been a great deal of controversy surrounding this subject. There shouldn’t be.
Since of their prominence, I will talk about George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin– our country’s very first three Presidents, and the guy described as “the First American”– all of whom, even if some did not individually abide by orthodox Christianity, were soaked in the Judeo-Christian custom.
Here’s what we can state for specific about their religious beliefs.
1) All of the Founders thought in a transcendent God, that is, a Creator who exists outside of nature.
2) All the Founders thought in a God who enforces ethical obligations on human beings.
3) All the Founders believed in a God who penalizes bad behavior and benefits good behavior in an afterlife.
The notion that any of the Founders believed in an impersonal divine being who simply created the universe and then left it to itself is incorrect. All of them thought in a God who, as Franklin stated at the Constitutional Convention, “governs in the affairs of males.”
Let’s start with George Washington.
Washington’s works, both private and public, have plenty of recommendations to the Bible. This is certainly real during his eight years as the first President of the United States. Here is Washington at his first Inaugural: “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a country that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” In all likelihood, Washington was an orthodox Christian.
Like Washington, Benjamin Franklin likewise referenced Bible verses, stories, and metaphors throughout his life. His require prayer at the Constitutional Convention were common of his attitude. Franklin, who had his own unorthodox views, summarized his faith this way: “That the soul of man is never-ceasing, and will be treated with justice in another life appreciating its conduct in this.”
While the spiritual views of Washington and Franklin are clear, those of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are more complicated. Adams described himself as a Christian throughout his life, but did not believe in conventional Christian doctrines such as the trinity or the divinity of Jesus. Before, during and after his tenure as President, Adams repeatedly asserted his adoration for the Christian faith: “Those general Principles of Christianity are as immutable and eternal as the Existence and Attributes of God,” he composed.
Adams spoke of his great regard for the Bible.” [T] he Bible is the very best book in the world. It includes more of my … philosophy than all the libraries I have seen …” Those who recommend that Adams protested religious beliefs like to price estimate from a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson in which he said, “This would be the very best of all possible worlds if there was no faith in it.”
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source
Were the Founders Religious? What did the Founding Fathers believe about religious beliefs? Did they think in secularism, or did they desire Americans to be religious? While the spiritual views of Washington and Franklin are clear, those of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are more made complex. Adams referred to himself as a Christian throughout his life, but did not believe in conventional Christian doctrines such as the trinity or the divinity of Jesus.
