all-encompassingly

the founders on 'civil religion'

::: part iii of iii :::

part ii is [here]
part i is [here]

the bulk of the quotations in this entry are taken from primary-source documents. when we go back and read what america's founders have to say on religion, morality, and citizenship, i think we'll find it harder to give in to the atheists who want to remove every reference to religion from our national discourse. i think any christian especially (but any religious person), any patriot, any historian will be struck by the language of the original documents. take advantage of the library of congress exhibit and read the choice exerpts that have been posted online.

loc religion and founding exhibit main page

writings of founders page 1

writings of founders page 2

these documents are proof that, if not anymore, our nation was once a grateful nation, humble enough to acknowledge the vastness of blessings it had received from god--independence, economic and religious freedom, and the opportunity to create its own government. i suppose i've chosen this stance on civil religion because i'd like my fellow citizens to still feel this way, and for our government to express the will of the people thus.

Congressional Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
Congress set December 18, 1777, as a day of thanksgiving on which the American people "may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor" and on which they might "join the penitent confession of their manifold sins . . . that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance." Congress also recommends that Americans petition God "to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.'"

Congressional Fast Day Proclamation
Congress proclaimed days of fasting and of thanksgiving annually throughout the Revolutionary War. This proclamation by Congress set May 17, 1776, as a "day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer" throughout the colonies. Congress urges its fellow citizens to "confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his [God's] righteous displeasure, and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness." Massachusetts ordered a "suitable Number" of these proclamations be printed so "that each of the religious Assemblies in this Colony, may be furnished with a Copy of the same" and added the motto "God Save This People" as a substitute for "God Save the King."

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While James Madison was serving as President of the United States, he received a letter from a Jewish congregation that expressed gratitude to him for the freedom to exercise their beliefs in America. Madison responded in May of 1818, “having ever regarded the freedom of religious opinions and worship as equally belonging to every sect…I observe with pleasure the view you give of the spirit in which your sect partake of the blessing offered by our government and laws”(letter addressed to M. M. Noah, par.1. Emphasis added).
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Thomas Jefferson was called upon to compose a bill for establishing religious freedom in Virginia. “Its protection of opinion was meant to be universal,” he says. But, "Where the preamble declares, 'coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion,' an amendment was proposed, inserting the [name], 'Jesus Christ,' so that it read, 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion.' The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindu, and Infidel of every denomination" (writings of Jefferson, vol.1. Emphasis added).
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In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin describes Philadelphia's Westminster Hall and its purposes thus: "Both house and ground were vested in trustees, expressly for the use of any preacher of any religious persuasion who might desire to say something to the people at Philadelphia; the design in the building not being to accommodate any particular sect, but the inhabitants in general; so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service. Difference of opinion is advantageous in religion" (emphasis added).
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Though Franklin confessed to having “some doubts” of the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth, he wrote to a friend, “I think the system of morals, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see” (letter to Ezra Styles (of Yale), March 9, 1790).
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Thomas Jefferson was sure that “the only firm basis [of democracy] is a conviction in the hearts of the people that their liberties are [a gift from] God”(Notes on Virginia, n.18). In his inaugural address, he addressed the power of religion “professed and practiced in many forms [to inculcate] honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and love [of others], acknowledging and adoring an over-ruling Providence” (Gibbs, 31). At the same time, he was disgusted at the idea of forcing all citizens to support a state church, saying, "It is sinful and tyrannical to compel a man to furnish contributions for the propagation of opinion that he disbelieves and abhors. I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another" (qtd. in Fox, 44).
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Thomas Jefferson fully supported rights of conscience and religion. He helped to encourage an article’s passage that protected those rights in Virginia. It reads: "No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his belief; but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion; and the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. And we do declare that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind" (writings of Jefferson, vol.2, appendix 3, par. 2). Jefferson wanted people to decide for themselves, and believed they could do it. “I have great confidence in the common sense of mankind in general,” he said (qtd in Wills, 190).
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John Adams showed that he understood the need for religious education of the citizens of a democracy when he said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (qtd. in Benson, 23).
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Adams knew that without “virtues of moderation and self-restraint,” people are ungovernable (West, Vindicating the Founders, 161). He advised that our Independence Day ought to be commemorated as “the day of deliverance, with solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty (qtd. in Gibbs, 63). Adams was the author of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, which declares, “the happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion, and morality”(par.12).
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As United States President, Adams wrote, in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and the Beyan Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary, that, “the government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion, as it has itself no character of enmity against the law, religion or tranquility of [Muslims]”(Art. 11).
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In Christianity, the Ten Commandments from Exodus chapter 20 and the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapters 5-7 are excellent examples of universal codes of conduct accepted by humanity, though different religions taught them independently of each other. In a letter to Jefferson dated 4 November, 1816, Adams told him that such truths “contain my religion.” This statement shows that Adams, like Franklin, was more committed to just principles than to any religion.
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James Madison advocated the large republic, promising that by harboring more factions, none would have enough power to become tyrannical. In federalist #51 he applies this thinking to religious sects: "In a free government, the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights. It consists in the one case in the multiplicity of sects. The degree of security in both cases will depend on the number of interests and sects; and this may be presumed to depend on the extent of the country and number of people comprehended under the same government" (qtd. in Beer, 270).
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Madison also wrote: "It is the natural duty of all to practice…forbearance, love, and charity towards each other. No free government or the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles” (The Virginia Declaration of Rights, pars.18, 7).
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When Washington spoke to the Volunteer Association of Ireland in 1783, he told them that America is “open to receive” people from “all nations and religions”(Writings, 27). Thomas West says of Washington, “His openness to non-protestant citizenship is evident in his letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, written just after he had been elected America’s first president:” "The citizens of the United States of America have the right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an large and liberal policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were by the indulgence of one class of citizens that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for happily the Government of the United States, which gives bigotry no sanction, and persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving [to the government] on all occasions their effectual support.” (letter, 1790).
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To Jefferson on 1 January, 1788, Washington wrote that the various nationalities and religions of immigrants did not concern him as much as whether immigrants were “pacific, industrious, and virtuous characters.” President Washington encouraged the immigration of the Dutch to America. In a letter to Reverend Francis Vanderkemp, dated 28 May 1788, Washington wrote: “This country certainly promises greater advantages than almost any other to persons…who are determined to be sober, industrious, and virtuous members of society.” He identified the Dutch as possessing these qualities, as well as being “friends to the rights of mankind.” He rightly concluded that they would be “a valuable acquisition to our infant settlements” (qtd in West, 151).
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Washington argued the need for the free exercise of religion: "If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed at 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; and if I could now conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution. For you doubtless remember that I have often expressed my sentiments that every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience" (qtd. in Fox 84, 85).
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Following sincere words of gratitude directed toward “the great Author of every public and private good,” Washington adds, "I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency." He dedicated “Thanksgiving Day” to be “a day of solemn prayer and gratitude” unto heaven for aiding in the establishment of the American nation (qtd. in Gibbs, 81). As a farewell to the United States, Washington counseled, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports”(qtd. in Fox, 130).
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at his inaugural address, Washington said: "There exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity. Thus, we ought to be persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained…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." It is clear that Washington was not in the least bit morally relativistic, saying that “rules of order and right” are “eternal.” However, he identifies these rules as principles of “religion” in general.
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Pennsylvania Senator and historian, William Maclay, while a staunch critic of Washington, nonetheless offered this impressive commentary on his presidency: "Watching with an equal and comprehensive eye over this great assemblage of communities and interests, he laid the foundations of our national policy in the unerring, immutable principles of morality based on religion, exemplifying the preeminence of a free government by all the attributes that win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world" (169-170).
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The founding fathers expected each religious group to teach its own specific extension of those broad moral principles that defined the American character. For that reason, they established public institutions, like schools, that would sponsor the general values of the Good and instill their importance into American society. This is shown in the establishment of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787: “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged” (article 3).
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The Massachusetts Constitution, authored by John Adams, particularly encouraged public and private education, to "inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people" (par. 21, qtd in West, 161).
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The following is taken from Thomas West Vindicating The Founders, in a chapter called, immigration and the moral conditions of citizenship: "Founders like Jefferson, Madison, Washington, and Adams supported public education [because] a people must have the right character and beliefs if it is to sustain a free government. The purpose of public education, wrote Jefferson, is to make the people “safe, as they are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty…and to render even them safe their minds must be improved to a certain degree. This indeed is not all that is necessary, though it be essentially necessary” (Notes on VA, n.14).
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The Founding Fathers of the United States of America envisioned the Good as a broad set of fundamental moral truths. They seemed to personally favor Christianity, but did not narrow the government’s position to a strict dogmatic interpretation of the moral truths they accepted. Neither did they allow basic moral truth to be dismissed because of relativistic opinions. The Founders of this nation knew the usefulness of religious principles in teaching citizens about the Good. They also recognized the problems that are typically caused by mixing religion with government. They walked a fine line into unknown territory and found a new and appropriate place for religion. George Washington, describing the paradox that the Founders discovered, hailed the same miraculous paradox as the principle that keeps a society from falling into the human predicament: “While just government protects all in their religious rights, true religion affords government its surest support” (qtd. in “The Founding Fathers” CD-ROM).

The Founders of America were not dogmatic, closed-minded Protestants. They wisely kept government separate from any specific church. But they realized that for a nation to live in happiness, it must have a moral people. They identified religious practice as an aid in that regard, yet worked to create a civil religion open enough to include all groups, sects, and societies that held reasonable moral beliefs. These men and their associates, through unique and progressive thinking, created the unique scenario that we still enjoy today: the American Balance.

[full text of paper]

the library of congress exhibit online: religion and the founding of the american republic

Posted by travis at April 1, 2004 01:39 PM | TrackBack