A number of people argue that the founding fathers of our nation did not regard religion, especially a belief in God, as important. However, there is considerable evidence to the contrary.
What Our Founding Fathers Said in Regard to God
The following are just a relatively few of the relevant quotes by a number of the most prominent of our founding fathers.
George Washington: “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
And, on another occasion, Washington said, “I now make it my earnest prayer that God would… most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion.”
John Adams (second President of the United States): “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
On a different occasion, John Adams stated, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
Thomas Jefferson: “[C]an the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”
In addition, Jefferson made the following statements:
The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.
I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.
I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.
Benjamin Franklin: “I’ve lived . . . a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: That God governs in the affairs of men.
Daniel Webster (U. S. Senator; Secretary of State): “The Christian religion – its general principles – must ever be regarded among us as the foundation of civil society.”
Samuel Adams (a signer of the Declaration of Independence): “I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world . . . that the confusions that are and have been among the nations may be overruled by the promoting and speedily bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly bow to the scepter of Him who is the Prince of Peace.”
Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence): “The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations! . . . My only hope of salvation is in the infinite transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the Cross.
John Jay (First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court): “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.”
James Wilson (Justice on the original Supreme Court): “Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine. . . . Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants.”
John Quincy Adams (sixth President of the United States): “Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?”
What the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution Say in Regard to God
We will now consider whether or not our founding fathers mentioned God in our nation’s Declaration of Independence and/or our Constitution.
In the Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson, he refers to “Nature’s God.” However, the meaning of this term is not clear. A number of sources argue that Jefferson’s belief in God was based on reasoning, not on revealed religion and that Jefferson believed in a creator similar to the God of deism, which Webster’s Dictionary defines as “belief in the existence of a God on purely rational grounds. . . .”
Founding.com similarly states, “The term ‘nature’s God” refers to that which responsible for human . . . nature being what it is. It is a way of speaking of God insofar as God is knowable by human reason. In other words, our minds, unassisted by divine revelation, can figure out that there is such a thing as human nature, and that there are laws or rules that we must follow if we are to live justly and well.” And, according to Wikipedia, Nature’s God refers to “a deity in charge of forces of nature.”
However, the previously-mentioned quotes attributed to Jefferson seem to indicate that he not only believed in the God of the Bible, but also that he was a Christian. Therefore, it is uncertain if the reference to Nature’s God in the Declaration of Independence pertains to the God who is mentioned throughout the Bible or to a deist concept of God.
As for the U.S. Constitution, it does not mention God, but the term religion is mentioned once in the Constitution and that is in the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . .” Thus, the U.S Constitution does not advocate for any particular religion. This is the basis for not including the tenets of any religion in laws passed by our government.
Nevertheless, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Report for March 27, 1854, stated: “At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged. . . . That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”
Conclusion
Although a number of our nation’s founding fathers made statements which indicated that they believed in the God of the Bible, these men did not expressly incorporate their personal religious beliefs into either our nation’s Declaration of Independence or our Constitution. In the case of our Constitution, our founding fathers wanted to prevent a particular religion from unduly influencing the laws of our government.
Therefore, the founding documents of our nation do not expressly support the belief that the United States is a Christian nation or a nation that otherwise believes in God. Unfortunately, this has been a major factor in our government having no moral absolutes on which to rely and, as a result, our nation’s laws regarding a number of moral issues are constantly in a state of flux. [Note: Our article entitled “How Can People Really Know What Is Right and What Is Wrong?” provides several examples of such issues. To read that article, click on its title.]