Were our founding fathers Christians?
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Do you know whether or not our founding fathers were Christians?
On the con (against) side:
("Our founding fathers were NOT Christians")
- Founding Father Quotes on Religion
- Here are a few devestating quotes from the above site:
1)""I cannot conceive otherwise than that He, the Infinite Father, expects or requires no worship or praise from us, but that He is even infinitely above it." --- Benjamin Franklin, from "Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion"", Nov. 20, 1728
2)And about George Washington "First President of the United States was without a trace of "Christianism". He was so completely indifferent to its pious irascibilities that he never appears to have made any comment on them. Indeed, he seemed, according to the evidence, to have had no instinct or feeling for religion" - Our founding fathers were not Christians
- An even more devestating quote from this site:
"Most of the Founders were Deists, which is to say they thought the universe had a creator, but that he does not concern himself with the daily lives of humans, and does not directly communicate with humans, either by revelation or by sacred books. They spoke often of God, (Nature's God or the God of Nature), but this was not the God of the bible. They did not deny that there was a person called Jesus, and praised him for his benevolent teachings, but they flatly denied his divinity."
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On the pro (for) side:
("Our Founding Fathers WERE Christians")
- Wallbuilders
- Here's a few of the encouraging quotes found on this site:
"As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see."--Benjamin Franklin
"You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are." ---George Washington - Quotes from our founding fathers
- This squidoo lense gives more quotes in support of the Chistianity of our founding fathers, such as the following:
"We recognize no Sovereign but God, and NO King but Jesus!"
--John Hancock
Read more on the Christianity of our founding fathers
Blog posts on the beliefs of our founding fathers:
on whether or not our founding fathers were Christians
- Did Jesus Foresee The US Constitution?
- Here's an extract from a 1987 statement by the then-Mormon president, Ezra Taft Benson. It's worth reading the whole thing, but these passages stood out to me: Our Father in Heaven planned the coming forth of the Founding Fathers and their form of ...
- Printed letters, May 30, 2012
- Most leading Founding Fathers were not deeply religious. Most of them, at best, only passively believed in organized Christianity and, at worse, privately scorned it. Most of the principal Founding Fathers were mainly interested in curbing religious ...
- Fighting for liberty
- Preservation of our liberties assumes we know what "liberty" means. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt we do, at least not in the same fashion that it was viewed and understood by our Founding Fathers. Liberty was never to be an excuse towards ...
- Vatican today — May 30, 2012
- During his general audience this morning, which was celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father continued a series of catecheses on Christian prayer according to St. Paul who, the Pope said, saw it as ?a real individual encounter with God the ...
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What do you think?
Please vote
Why? Give a reason for your answer.
Chime in on either side with a reason for your belief as to whether or not the founding fatheres were Christians.
Why I believe the founding fathers were NOT Christians
Serenia says:
The Declaration of Independence mentions God but ONLY in Deistic terms! Nowhere in the Declaration is Jesus, Moses or the Bible ever mentioned. If America was founded as a Christian nation this would not be the case.
One important US document that not many people are aware of is the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary. Article XI of this treaty which was started in the administration of George Washington and which was ratified in the administration of John Adams reads, "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion . . ." . This makes it very clear that America was not founded as a Christian nation or on Judeo-Christian principles!
(world union of deists)
In the book Washington and Religion by Paul F. Boller, Jr., we read on page 92, "[George] Washington was no infidel, if by infidel is meant unbeliever. Washington had an unquestioning faith in Providence and, as we have seen, he voiced this faith publicly on numerous occasions. That this was no mere rhetorical flourish on his part, designed for public consumption, is apparent from his constant allusions to Providence in his personal letters. There is every reason to believe, from a careful analysis of religious references in his private correspondence, that Washington's reliance upon a Grand Designer along Deist lines was as deep-seated and meaningful for his life as, say, Ralph Waldo Emerson's serene confidence in a Universal Spirit permeating the ever shifting appearances of the everyday world."
(world union of deists)
I am a deist and I know that deism is true. USA was founded on DEIST beliefs, not christian beliefs.
faithfuljim says:
Since no-one else is chiming in, I guess I'll have to play devil's advocate and
mention that there does seem to be some evidence that Ben Franklin was a Diest, and then there's Thomas Jefferson, who printed his own Bible, in which he left out several parts because he didn't believe them. I still believe that George Washington was a Christian, although there is evidence that he did not attend church very often.
Why I believe the founding fatheres WERE Christians
glockr says:
Some were, some weren't, but it seems pretty clear that the principles embodied in our Declaration and Constitution are based on Judeo-Christian values.
marketer001 says:
There is to much obvious evident to claim other wise. Only a few of them wasn't.
Would it make a great deal of difference, either way?
At least we know the founding fathers had some sort of belief in God, whether or not they were actually Christians, as we know the term, meaning, believers in salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. If it turned out that our founding fathers were not really Christians, OR, if there was absolute proof that they were, would it make a difference in your own personal belief or feelings toward this country?
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mamabush
Mar 1, 2012 @ 9:11 am | delete
- Adding this to my Celebrate America lens...it's a great debate! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. :)
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stacyman
Feb 26, 2011 @ 9:06 am | delete
- Our own worldview determines what we think about past events or any subject for that matter. So it isn't surprising to hear a progressive say that the founding fathers were not Christian. Even today, the vast majority of American citizens claim to be a Christian. I can't remember the last time someone claimed to be a Deist. Deist seems to be a term only reserved for people who lived in the past. Interesting.
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Serenia
Feb 21, 2011 @ 3:27 pm | delete
- To me yes. I would choose to vote for the deist over the christian every time. At least I know the deist will think logically and reasonably before he committs to any course of action.
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Doug Indeap
Feb 20, 2011 @ 6:57 pm | delete
- While many founders were Christian of one sort or another, care should be taken not to make too much of the founders' individual religious beliefs. In assessing the nature of our government, the religiosity of the various founders, while informative, is largely beside the point. Whatever their religions, they drafted a Constitution that plainly establishes a secular government in the sense that it is based on the power of the people (not a deity) and says nothing substantive of god(s) or religion except in the First Amendment where the point is to confirm that each person enjoys religious liberty and that the government is not to take steps to establish religion and another provision precluding any religious test for public office. This is entirely consistent with the fact that some founders professed their religiosity and even their desire that Christianity remain the dominant religious influence in American society. Why? Because religious people who would like to see their religion flourish in society may well believe that separating religion and government will serve that end and, thus, in founding a government they may well intend to keep it separate from religion. It is entirely possible for thoroughly religious folk to found a secular government and keep it separate from religion. That, indeed, is just what the founders did.
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by faithfuljim
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