Quit Telling People That The Founding Fathers Weren’t Christians!

It continues to amaze me when people try and act as if this country…and this government were not founded upon Christian principles. I guess if enough loud and influential people are persistent at changing history…then history can be changed. It’s scary to think about what our grandchildren’s history books might look like and it’s even scarier to imagine what will happen to the United States of America because of it.

Truth it seems…is being routed out by agendas.

founding fathers christian

Here is the truth! The United States of America was founded by a bunch of Christians that wanted the freedom to worship God and Christ “according to the dictates of their own conscience”. But right now as we speak…powerful people in our country are hard at work to erase that concept from our minds and from our libraries in the name of progressivism.

Christianity is woven into the very fabric of everything that we hold dear in this country…from our currency to our founding architectural buildings. That green paper we hold in our hands steadily proclaims that “In God We Trust” while the “East Face” of our own Washington Monument is capped with the Latin phrase “Laus Deo” meaning “Praise be to God”. (Someone has since tried to cover this up)

There is no doubt that the undergirding principle of Christianity is the overarching principle upon which this nation was founded…namely,

Freedom.

No other system of religion or government has successfully implemented a society wherein freedom was such a guiding principle. And where did that principle come from?

Christ.

In a previous article, I suggested that the founders of the United States of America were largely Christian in their beliefs. I thought this concept was well understood. But many people called me crazy, told me I was an idiot, and challenged me to research the founders religious backgrounds more thoroughly.

Challenge accepted!

So…here’s what I came up with.

But before I begin with the barrage of quotes…one thing I wish I could understand is why so many people are so determined to suppress or extinguish other peoples religious beliefs. How does it hurt anyone else if I believe in Christ? Thomas Jefferson said it this way. “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.” (Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. Edited by William Peden. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1955.)

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In this great country…people are free to worship whoever they want, whenever they want, and however they want. The only reason it’s that way in this nation is because Christian principles of agency and the ancient law of liberty have been implemented and put to work here.

George Washington said in his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs in 1779 that “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, The Writings of Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, editor (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1932), Vol. XV, p. 55,)

But wasn’t Washington a “Deist”?

If he was…then it’s a strange sort of deist that offers so many recorded prayers to God. Desists don’t believe that God intervenes in the lives of humans but then Charles Bracelen Flood reports that “during the revolutionary war there were at least sixty-seven desperate moments when Washington acknowledged that he would have suffered disaster had not the hand of God intervened in behalf of the struggle for independence.” (Rise and Flight Again [New York: Dodd, Mead & Co 1976 p. 377]

Washington was definitely not a pure deist like Thomas Paine or Ethan Allen. It’s feasible that he could have been influenced by deism but never a true deist.

Deism gained its popularity by many of whom were raised Christian during the “Age of Enlightenment”. They witnessed a form of corrupt Christianity being practiced among the competing pastors and of their day and could not morally or intellectually associate themselves with the chaos and confusion of those religions.

So deists decided to place their trust in the natural observances of an intelligent creator instead of the churches of their day. While many of the founders were likely influenced by deism it doesn’t mean that they abandoned their belief in the Bible or their faith in Christ. It actually makes a lot of sense.

The Bible taught them that there was one true church, (Eph 4:5) and this new breed of hybid deists had no idea where to find that church. These hybrid deists formed a cloudy undefined category of people that were strong believers in God but savvy enough to recognize when religion has been flawed by human beings. The founders…in most cases fit this description…and yet still maintained a solid faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings.

It’s fine if you’d like to call Thomas Jefferson and others like him “deists” but Jefferson was a hardcore Christian before he was anything else. On January 9th 1816, Jefferson wrote to Charles Thomson declaring “I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ” (Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington, D.C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XIV, p. 385

John Jay makes it clear to John Murray in 1816 that the United States is a Christian nation. He says, “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.” (William Jay, The Life of John Jay (New York: J. & J. Harper, 1833), Vol. II, p. 376

Good ol’ Patrick Henry tells Archibald Blair that “The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.” (Patrick Henry, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches, William Wirt Henry, editor (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891), Vol. II, p. 592)

But which religion Patrick?

“Being a Christian… is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.”. (A. G. Arnold, The Life of Patrick Henry of Virginia (Auburn and Buffalo: Miller, Orton and Mulligan, 1854), p. 250)

From which book Patrick? “The Bible… is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed.” (William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry(Philadelphia: James Webster, 1818), p. 402)

…and I’ll bet that Patrick Henry read a lot of books.

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Just following Alexander Hamilton’s famous duel with Aaron Burr, Hamilton laid on his bed and gave his final testimony to the Rev. J. M. Mason and Rev. Benjamin Moore. He told them that “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Al¬mighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (John M. Mason, A Collection of the Facts and Documents Relative to the Death of Major General Alexander Hamilton (New York: Hopkins and Seymour, 1804), p. 53)

Even Benjamin Franklin testified of the resurrection through a eulogy that he wrote for himself. Franklin wrote,”The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.” (Benjamin Franklin, Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin (Dublin: P. Wogan, P. Byrne, J. More, and W. Janes, 1793), p. 149)

If there was any question as to who Benjamin Franklin believed was the author of his body…his belief is summed up in just one sentence. “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, Works of Benjamin Franklin, John Bigelow, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904), p. 185, to Ezra Stiles, March 9, 1790.)

These founders were smart. They saw the massive confusion among Christian denominations…and they kept themselves abreast of being associated with any one of them. They knew that there is no salvation in believing a false doctrine.

founding fathers christian

However! It doesn’t mean that they didn’t see the absolute necessity to found this country upon Biblical Christian principles. Religion…was and is important. Samuel Adams who is considered the “Father of the American Revolution” asked the State of Massachusetts to pray that “the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may be known and enjoyed throughout the whole family of mankind.” (Samuel Adams, A Proclamation For a Day of Public Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer)

Daniel Webster said that “Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.” (Daniel Webster, The Works of Daniel Webster (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1853), Vol. I, p. 44, A Discourse Delivered at Plymouth, on December 22, 1820.)

They knew that Christianity was the only religious foundation upon which freedom of religion could be practiced.

We could go on…and on…and on. There are hundreds of these references for almost every single one of the “founders”.

But it goes even deeper than the “founders”.  Sometimes we forget why the very first people even came to America. It was +/- 132 Christians…wanting freedom of religion and freedom from oppression. They risked their lives to set up shop about 3,500 miles away from home and it was their faith in Christ that enabled them to get on that boat and make that journey.

So honestly…why divorce the most successful civilization ever established from the roots that made it great in the first place?

I would never dream of going to another country and then asking them…nay…requiring them to remove all references to their religious heritage.

If you don’t want to be Christian…then don’t be Christian. You’ll still have all of the same rights in America as the Christian standing next to you. That’s the way this nation was established. To protect the rights of anyone within it’s borders. But the 10 commandments being displayed on public land isn’t going to hurt you…so why make a big deal about it?

If you loathe the principles upon which this country was founded…then why live here? There are so many other countries that were not founded upon those same principles. I’m sure they would welcome you with open arms.

So to those that have challenged me to research the founders more thoroughly…can I issue a similar challenge?  Stop trying to change history in the name of progress. Some progress is unnecessary. Let the founders maintain their belief in Jesus Christ, and come to grips with the fact that this nation was built from the core principles found within the Bible.

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22 thoughts on “Quit Telling People That The Founding Fathers Weren’t Christians!

  1. Confused

    How would you explain the fact that the founding fathers owned slaves? You go into depth about freedom, but I’m assuming you are only referring to holy freedom for whites? Also, the first people on the American continent were not Christians…they were Native Americans stripped of their freedom by so-called Christians. Raped, murdered, conquested. Can you explain how those ideals fit into your idea of America being built on Christianity? America was built on the backs of slaves, not Christian values, sir.

    • Dennis

      Wow, I guess Europe and the whole world in general contained no Christianity then, because slavery was pretty much universal at that time. Also, since all of the developed nations participated in colonizing, conquering and establishing trade outposts throughout the Americas, Christianity couldn’t possibly have been practiced in any of the developed nations. Many of these countries had established theocracies based on Christianity as well, so naturally you would reject all as having been real Christians. Did you read the quote given in the article: “George Washington said in his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs in 1779 that “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.” Does he sound like a murderer, rapist or conqueror there? Christians came here seeking religious freedom, rather than out of desires to enslave natives. You have a dark world view that seems to prevent you from seeing things in a true light.

    • R Berger

      Read the first attempt at the Declaration of Independence !!
      3 Errors in your post…
      Blacks were not exempt so drop the racism ” two leading historians of the slave trade, John Thornton and Linda Heywood of Boston University, for the proposition that roughly 90% of the slaves sent across the Middle Passage were enslaved by African traders and then sold to Europeans along the coast. Other leading scholars believe that the percentage is actually much higher, that only at the margins were any Africans enslaved directly by Europeans.”
      And Native Americans had slaves, so again drop the racism “Many of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, such as the Haida and Tlingit, were traditionally known as fierce warriors and slave-traders, raiding as far as California.”
      And worst of all you ignore the heinous internecine cruelty of Indians to each other. Another racist lumping of all ‘indians’ together.
      But you are not totally to blame , this is what you’ve been told

  2. nellie83

    Amen Greg!
    Not only was this country founded on Christian beliefs and values, I sincerely believe the wording of the final draft of the constitution was inspired by God. This country was built on a Christian foundation and if the people in it try to take God and Jesus out of it, the foundation will crumble…mark my words.

  3. Rick Phillips

    If this is a Christian nation, why isn’t Jesus mentioned in either the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence? Also, better double check your views of Jefferson. Ever hear of the Jefferson Bible?

    • Big C

      I’ll add one more: If we are a Christian nation, why does Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli begin with ” As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”

      This was sent to the Senate by President John Adams (a founder father) and unanimously ratified by the Senate (full of founding fathers).

      • Dennis

        The purpose of that phrase was gain their confidence and effect this clause that “no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries”. This was a shrewd move by Commissioner, David Humphreys, who had been appointed “for negotiating and concluding a Treaty of Peace”. I wouldn’t put too much stock in this phraseology, as it can easily be justified by the separation of our Church and State provisions and had a political agenda for being worded this way.

        BTW, none of the legal documents that I have ever executed specifically contain the name of Jesus Christ in them, even though I am a Christian. The Constitution references God 5 times, this is very telling and significant, even though the founders wanted to make sure no theocracy would ever be established here.
        Please note: “On the day that Congress finished its work on the First Amendment, it called on President George Washington to issue a Proclamation to the people of the United States to thank God for the freedoms we enjoy. A week and a day later the President’s opening paragraph in his Proclamation said: “Whereas 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 . . .” Note the words “to obey His will” are fatal to any suggestion that George Washington and the framers of our Constitution believed in “secularism.” In America, religious values influence government policy through the vote of the people. “

        • Big C

          You’re dismissing the plain language of the treaty because you think it’s pure politics?

          “The Constitution references God 5 times”

          Can you cite those references please?

    • R berger

      Jesus is not mentioned for the Christian reason that faith is a gift from God not from the nation. Natural law, the law of reason is the LOGOS, common to all Western tradition and Jewish and Christian religion. It is moral but pre-religion.

  4. Diarydad

    The problem with your post is that their individual beliefs were irrelevant to the founding of the nation, and they took pains to separate their individual religious affiliations from government both so that the government would be nurtured as well as religion. Many religious leaders were also very much in favor of separating the government from religion because if the government failed they didn’t want it to be seen as a referendum on their religion. Many of the founding fathers and the thinkers that inspired them were christian there is no doubt of that but the unifying characteristic that they had was their adoption of enlightenment thinking which led to a divorce of government by a ruler and defined by religion. In truth the nation was built on the core values of enlightenment thinking and not the bible. The concept of the United States as a “christian” nation is relatively new. “In God We trust” wasn’t added to our money until around the turn of the 20th century, the words “under God” weren’t added to the pledge of allegiance until after WWII. “And God Bless America” wasn’t a standard ending to a presidential address until Ronald Reagan. All those are not specifically Christian terms but if you want to look at how history is being rewritten then the inclusion of more religious terminology in our political activities indicates that religious zealots are trying to reverse what the founding fathers had tried to create.

    • Dennis

      Please note: “On the day that Congress finished its work on the First Amendment, it called on President George Washington to issue a Proclamation to the people of the United States to thank God for the freedoms we enjoy. A week and a day later the President’s opening paragraph in his Proclamation said: “Whereas 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 . . .” Note the words “to obey His will” are fatal to any suggestion that George Washington and the framers of our Constitution believed in “secularism.” In America, religious values influence government policy through the vote of the people. “

      • Diarydad

        I’m not suggesting that George Washington wasn’t Christian, or whether or not the majority of founding fathers were or were not. They were largely influenced but “Deist” thinking and more so Enlightenment thinking. They were very careful to tie the government they created to a specific religion. As far as a proclamation goes that was part of the Thanksgiving Day proclamation establishing a day of thanksgiving. This was a proclamation, not a law passed by congress and was recommended to the states. He himself was a religious man and used religious verbiage and imagery when recommending to the various state governor’s that they observe this day of thanksgiving. When speaking to a broad audience who share a philosophical culture invoking the term god and almighty was done in such a way as to be inclusive rather than exclusive of the citizenry. Christian, Deist, and even Jewish populations would have been able to read that document in the context of their faith. The full note you have added though has been used and reused many times over to try and make the point for including more religion in government itself and falls short at that. It does not apply to what I wrote previously and unless you have some personal insight you’d like to add to it to explain its inclusion here I think we can disregard it…

    • R Berger

      I could almost say ‘totally false’. Their religious views were paramount but not denominational !!
      As for the Englightenment you make the common error that there was only one. There were three. The Founders DESPISED the French attitude and acts toward religion
      The Roads to Modernity: The British, French, and American Enlightenments 2005
      by Gertrude Himmelfarb

  5. Helen

    No the founding fathers were Freemasons and deists, not Christian. America is not Israel nor is it a second Israel. We aren’t even mentioned in scripture.

  6. Larry Barnett

    Not all we’re firsts, not all we’re evangelicals, not all we’re Catholics, not all we’re Congregationalist (Unitarians). I would say that Armenia is the closest nation we have at being a Christian nation.
    Given they adopted it 10 to 11 years before Constantine., 309 years before Islam.
    Even knowing this..I’m still a follower of Yeshua. He is God.
    You guys keep saying this but their personal letters to family members , friend, political Allies just do y add up . You can die on that American Christianity hill ,
    Missionaries care less about this.
    Grateful for their freedom yes, but would give it up gladly for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not the American gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Glad I became a Christian during my time in Iraq. It’s all about, and will only be all about the Great Commission. And it isn’t about America, it’s about the salvation of the world, and Israel.
    The arrogance of this so blessed we are cursed country..

  7. Larry Barnett

    Not all we’re diests, not all we’re evangelicals, not all we’re Catholics, not all we’re Congregationalist (Unitarians). I would say that Armenia is the closest nation we have at being a Christian nation.
    Given they adopted it 10 to 11 years before Constantine., 309 years before Islam.
    Even knowing this..I’m still a follower of Yeshua. He is God.
    You guys keep saying this but their personal letters to family members , friend, political Allies just dont add up . You can die on that American Christianity hill all you want.
    Missionaries care less about this.
    Grateful for their freedom yes, but would give it up gladly for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not the American gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Glad I became a Christian during my time in Iraq. It’s all about, and will only be all about the Great Commission. And it isn’t about America, it’s about the salvation of the world, and Israel.
    The arrogance of this so blessed we are cursed country..

  8. Larry Barnett

    They were not all Christians..
    You do realize the majority of Christian’s aren’t stupid. They don’t believe all of the founding fathers were Christians..it’s true, and not a hill anybody is going to die on anymore. The question is, are you still a Christian even if they were not..or do you think it reads Christian on their birth certificate?
    It’s going to be okay. Because it’s only ever been about the great commission, and all it will ever be about..
    Oh and Israel, not America..

  9. R.D.

    The founders didn’t intend for this to be a Christian Nation. The founders were not all Christians. The Puritans were not nice people, and in fact hated Ben Franklin as a Quaker so much that they gave him a state to keep him away from them in New England. Jesus never wanted a Christian nation or a national religion. I don’t think you’re Christian either. Just an ignorant fool. Prov. 29:11

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