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Faith of the
Founding Fathers
by
John R. Schroeder
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How many know that ThomasJefferson compileda book based
on the four gospels? lt is widely assumed by cynics today that most
1f
not al/of the founding fathers did not real/y believe in
God This challenging article unearths many authentic, but little-known
quotations relating to their religious beliefs.
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T
he Bicent enni a l yea r has
becn marked by the rc–
e m ~ rgc~l <.:C
or. rcligion as a
ma.Jo r
1s
ue
111
Amcncan
pol it ics. Th e ' 'religious issue'· is once
aga in a via ble pan or clccti on-yea r
stra tcgy.
T he
1960
elec tion of a Roman
Catholic to the U.S. Prcs idency had
appa rcnt ly takcn religion out or na–
tiona l politics. At leas t many ob–
se rvers thought so. Howeve r. evcnts
of the las t few mon ths have shown
th al th e religious issue was not com–
ple tely dead. but only slumbering.
lt has been wide ly repon ed t11 a t
the fro nt -runni ng Dcmocratic can –
didat e ror Pres iclént. Jimmy Carter.
is a ma n of ve ry deep re ligiou con–
victions. He is a deacon and a Sun–
day-school teacher in one of the
la rges l and most respected Protes–
ta nt denomina t ions. He has no t to–
la lly omit tcd his "commi tment lo
Chri st"· from his campaign speechcs.
Major American news magazi ncs
ha ,·c printcd ani cles reportin g on
Mr. Ca rte r's rela tionship with God.
Once aga in a man·s rc ligious be –
liefs may be onc of th c more impor–
la nt fac tors in th e pres iden tia l
choice of the American electora te.
The Oval Office- Responsible
to God?
Th e vita l impon ance of religious
ethics reappeared on the Amer ican
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1976
scc ne in the wake of Watcrga tc. Thc
re ligious convcrsion or one of ti-te
convicted felons was widely circu–
la ted in newspaper and nationa l
ma~az in e
an icles.
Ath eis ts. agno tics ancl skcp ti cs
a like we re shocked by the overtl y
re l ig io u s Pr es id e nti a l p a rd on
spcech. In pa rdonin g former Pres i–
den!
ixon. Mr. Ford sa id: ''The
Co nstitu ti on is the supreme law of
our la nd a nd it governs our acti ons
as citi zens. Only th e laws of God,
which gove rn our con ciences. a re
superior
LO
it. As wc are
a na/ion
under Cod.
so
1
am sworn to uphold
our laws wi th the help of God fern–
phas i mine throughout aniclcj.'·
Howcvc r, one writ er for
Th e
Humanist
(Nov.-Dec.
1975 )
took is–
sue wi th our head of state. " Ford
tak ing cucs írom God ra th er than
th c Ame rican peo ple is no t only an
outrageous assa ult on a sys tcm of
jus tice where wc clai m cquity before
th e law. it is a lso an insull to ou r
intell igence ancl our belief in alter–
na tive belief sys tems."'
o twiths ta ndin g th e f'urrowed
brow · of worri ed nonbeli evers, the
th eological beliefs o f a ll our p re i–
uents have been colored by th eir
re ligious backgrounds. Our found –
ing fa th ers wcrc no exception. The
writt en test imony or
!he his!Orica/
record
cannot be summa ri ly cas t
as ide as ''reli gious double-ta lk.''
Declaration of lndependence
On J uly 4,
1776.
it
\\"US
the uml nt–
mous dec la ration of th irt een united
sta tes that "When in th e course or
human events. it becomes
n eces~ary
fo r one people lo dissolve thc politi–
ca l bo nds which have connectcd
them wit h ano the r. and to
as~umc
among the powers of the earth. the
se pa rate and equa l sta tio n
LO
whi ch
th e Laws of Nat urc ancl of
Narure:1·
Cod
ent itl e them ...
: ·
All flfty- ix
members or that congress appar–
en tly believcd tha t God ent it led
them to their scpa ra te but eq ual
sta tus wit h Grcat Br itain .
Cont inues the Decla ration of ln–
de pcndence: ··we ho ld thcse truths
lO
be self-evident. that a ll mcn
are
creoted equa!,
that they are endowed
by
1heir Cre{l[or
wit h certa in in–
ali enabk riglm ...
:·
Thc ro unding
la the rs a t least
.fomwl~l '
bel ievcd a ll
men were created by God.
The God-Consciousness
Severa! ycars down th e road came
the U.S. Constitut ion. Added to it
were the firsl ten amendments ca ll ed
the " Bill of Rights." AmenJment
one s tipul a le : ' 'Congress shall make
no law respecting an es tab li sh ment
of re ligion. - or
proh ibiling
the free
exercise rhereoj".
... ··
Deca des la te r Abra ham Lincoln
decided lo d raw upon the wisdom of
(Conrinued on page 23)
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