The Faith of our Founding Fathers By Debbie Evans, presented to the Alexander Love Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof I ve been teaching a government class for teen homeschoolers for the past two years. It s a great class this small group of teens gives me faith in our future they re smart and intuitive and I love hearing their ideas. We have very lively discussions! Our textbook is the U.S. Constitution. When we study a Constitutional issue, like the Establishment clause which I just read, we look at three things: The actual, original wording used The context in which it was written And case law from court rulings on the issue over the years Tonight, I d like to discuss the Establishment clause in light of these standards and attempt to answer the questions Were the Founding Fathers Christian? Did our Founding Fathers intend to separate religion from government?, and Was our country founded as a Christian nation? The wording of the 1 st amendment often raises more questions than it answers. But, to me, it s pretty clear. Our federal Congress can t make a LAW establishing a national religion or preventing someone from practicing their religion. It is open to interpretation, but it doesn t say anything about removing all signs of religion from government, or even that there should be a separation of church and state (a phrase which your average man on the street often believes is found IN the constitution. It s not, but we ll get to that later.) To understand the Establishment Clause and what the Founding Fathers intended by it, it s important to look at the context in which it was written. We learned when we were very small that the Pilgrims fled England to escape religious persecution. They came to America to find freedom of religion. Pilgrims in Plymouth, Puritans in Massachusetts Bay, Quakers in Pennsylvania, Church of England in Virginia, Catholics in Maryland Many of the early colonies WERE founded on religious principles. Colonists sought a haven to worship freely. However, for many of these colonists, their desire to worship freely did not necessarily extend to anyone else s rights to worship freely in other words, the Puritans didn t like the Quakers, the Protestants didn t trust the Anglicans, the Church of England fought the Baptists and none of them liked the Catholics or Jews. Most colonies had strict laws advocating government support of that colony s official religion. Woe be to those who did not agree. In these early days, religious freedom did not mean religious tolerance. Bigotry and abuse against people who practiced a minority faith in a community were common in early America. Benjamin Franklin wondered that Christians, who had been the objects of persecution, were inexplicably drawn towards oppressing others.
Was America founded as a Christian nation? The Continental Congress seemed to view it that way. A series of resolutions assumed a Christian audience. For example, calling for acts to please God through merits of Jesus Christ. Then, as now, however, the word Christian meant different things to different people. There was a wide range of religious practices that had little common ground across the fledgling country. The first signs of religious tolerance actually appeared during the American Revolution. Soldiers from every colony came together for the first time, varying denominations and beliefs were forced to serve together and find some way to get along. General Washington, who had been raised in an Anglican family believed in an omnipotent, intervening God and believed that God offered him special protection during the war. Intelligent and crafty, though, Washington knew that he would have to preach religious tolerance and acceptance as a practical matter to bring his army together. He specifically clamped down on anti-catholic bigotry. He was a strong believer in using religion to improve conduct and morality in his troops, authorizing military chaplains and required weekly services. He gave credit for victories to God and blamed defeat on his soldiers immorality. To the distinguished character of a Patriot, he said it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian. Our Founding Fathers represented these varying viewpoints. There was little consensus among them about what it meant to be a Christian. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, seemed especially conflicted. Jefferson, who also created the infamous Jefferson Bible, was a product of the Enlightenment, a rising belief system of the time that embraced science and reason and attempted to apply them to religion. Jefferson used his own reason and concluded that God exists. He was pro-jesus, but anti- Christian, pro-god, but anti-organized religion. Jefferson sought religious freedom because he did not fit into an accepted belief system. It is not an accident that the Declaration of Independence calls upon Divine Providence, Nature s God, Creator, Supreme Judge words carefully chosen to appeal to a variety of beliefs, including followers of Enlightenment theology. Remember, Jefferson did not write the Declaration in a vacuum; his work was heavily edited, so these words reflect the views of the whole. Following the Declaration of Independence, colonies began the transformation to states, writing new constitutions and establishing governments. The seven states that had established the Church of England as their official religion quickly moved to disestablish that not as a move towards religious freedom, but rather as a move away from England. Of the 13 colonies, only two (Virginia and Rhose Island) practiced what we would now consider religious freedom. New Jersey, Vermont, North Carolina, and Georgia banned Catholics holding office, Maryland banned non-christians, Delaware required officeholders to affirm the Trinity, Pennsylvania demanded lawmakers acknowledge Old and New Testament scriptures were divinely inspired (although they prohibited state support of particular faiths citizenship was only given to those who acknowledged being of God ), Connecticut and Massachusetts taxes went to support the Congregational Church - The Massachusetts legislature declared that religion was fundamental and must be supported by the state - South Carolina s constitution declared the Christian religion as the true religion.
So, this was the state of religion in America when the Founding Fathers met at the Constitutional Convention. There was no national consensus on how to define religious liberty or even how to define religion. The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence represented eight Christian denominations. There was even one Catholic in the group who immediately attracted suspicion from the others, yet ultimately became one of the guys. Nearly half (24) the group held seminary or Bible school degrees, although that did not mean that even they agreed on anything. Religion came up three times during the Convention (according to James Madison s notes). The first was a proposal to establish a non-denominational public university this failed. The second was a proposal that Congress shall pass no Law on the subject of religion (sound familiar?) This one also failed. The third proposal passed that no religious test or qualification would ever be required to hold office. This is only remarkable in that 11 of the 13 states had the time DID have such qualifications. Benjamin Franklin, who rewrote the Lord s Prayer and the Apostles Creed to better reflect his own beliefs and was considered deist, agnostic or atheist, depending on who you talk to, surprised many at the Constitutional Convention by proposing the convention hire a chaplain to offer daily blessings and prayer. He said I have lived, Sir, 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. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? I find it amusing that his proposal was actually rejected for a variety of reasons, one involving a lack of funds to pay a clergyman. A compromise was agreed upon however: when the first Constitutional Congress convened with a quorum (April 9, 1789), they hired two chaplains of different denominations, one to the House and one to the Senate, with a salary of $500 each to provide prayers and blessings over the proceedings. John Adams, the Founding Father we often think of as being the most (traditionally) religious, actually came to reject many fundamentalist doctrines. He and Franklin found it detestable that salvation was determined only by faith and not by good works. Ye will say I am no Christian, Adams wrote. I say Ye are no Christians. There the account is balanced. Yet I believe all the honest men among you are Christians, in my sense of the word. It is widely published that he wrote The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity, Lesser published is the sentence directly following this quote which said that the addition of millions of fables, tales, and legends created the most bloody religion that ever existed. He was strongly anti-catholic and turned from the Calvanism and Puritanism of his youth. He rejected aspects of Christianity yet believed himself a Christian, believing (later) that God had called him to the presidency. As an adult, he regularly attended a church that we would now call Unitarian. He (and they) considered themselves thoroughly Christian, yet rejected the trinity, praised good works, and emphasized Jesus moral teachings over his gift of salvation. He was also a strong supporter of statesupported religion.
This brings us to the most important consideration of the day IF there WERE a national religion what would it be? Thanks to the religious diversity of the time, a national test was impossible. However, it is important to note that the Constitution was written (and designed) to limit the FEDERAL government, not the state and local governments. This division of national and state powers was one of the things that made our new country unique. The debate over religion centered on the role of the national government in religion. The original debates concluded that they would just leave it out altogether. It can be assumed that the Founding Fathers fully expected the states to continue to control the religious structure of the individual states and did not expect the national government to play a role. In fact, in 1787, the Congress wrote the Northwest Ordinance which governed the Northwest Territories and states in Article 3 Religion, Morality, and Knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education, shall forever be encouraged. After studying the debates of the Constitutional Convention and the writings of the Founding Fathers, which I can only skim for you in this brief presentation, I ve come to the conclusion that the Founding Fathers were not opposed to religion in government, but rather they were only opposed to a Federally-imposed, national religion. Even the anti-establishment guys, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, supported religion in state and local governments. Their concern seemed to be that no ONE denomination receive special favor, and that all belief systems would be treated equally. Makes sense, since no one belief system would cover all of the 56 Constitution Convention members, much less the entire country. (That was then, it s even more true today.) Washington wrote that every man "ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience." Constitution signer Richard Dobbs Spaight explained: As to the subject of religion.... no power is given to the general government to interfere with it at all.... No sect is preferred to another. Every man has a right to worship the Supreme Being in the manner he thinks proper. Thomas Jefferson, the anti-organized religion guy, agreed that religion should be taught on the local level ( Establishing an Elementary School in Virginia ), but that only those tenets universally accepted by all faiths and fundamental to their premises. Benjamin Franklin wrote a list of FIVE basic (non-denominational tenets that should be taught in school: 1) Recognition and worship of a Creator who made all things, 2) That the Creator revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living, which distinguishes right from wrong 3) That the Creator holds mankind responsible for how they treat each other 4) That all mankind live beyond this life 5) That in the next life individuals are judged for their conduct in this one So, the Constitution was written and was remarkably secular.
As you know, many of the states would not support ratification until Congress agreed to add a Bill of Rights. During this debate, the subject of the national governments role in religion was once again at the forefront of the discussion. James Madison, Father of the Constitution, co-author of the Federalist papers, was strongly religious and strongly opposed to state-supported religion. He believed that any support would unintentionally harm religion. He also feared the majority imposing its will on the minority, AND he believed that the state legislatures leaned toward tyranny. He believed that religious freedom (meaning the government stayed out of it) was the best way to protect everyone s interests. To him, the best safeguard was the presence of a multiplicity of interests. He wrote that security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights that each faith owes its power and freedom to the vitality of the other faiths. He had the strong support of the Baptists, who also opposed federal control of religion. Perhaps, his marriage to Dolly, a Quaker, aided his tolerant views. He believed that state support for religion would wound religion because real faith must flow from a free mind and believers have no right to force belief upon others. Faith coerced is not true faith. He believed that any government support of religion would involve a feeling of coercion. James Madison was also front and center in the debate over the Establishment Clause. He believed that being vague would provide more religious freedom than being specific. He was afraid that a public debate would show that the Founding Fathers broad-minded approach to religion would not be shared by the general public. Not surprising, since, most of the states at the time had strong religious policies and laws, including tax-supported churches, religious requirements for jurors and those testifying in trials, people were regularly prosecuted for not observing the Sabbath, and it was illegal in some states to criticize, reproach, or deny Christianity, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, or the Bible. The First Amendment was not written by the Constitutional Convention, but rather the newly created Congress. The original draft was No national religion shall be established by law, nor shall the equal rights of conscience be infringed. This seemed pretty straightforward, and, to me, best represents what they were going for. But, as often happens in committee, the back and forth began. There is little explanation for us as to why various changes were made. Upon reviewing the debate, it s clear that the Congress opposed a national religion AND any restrictions against people practicing their religion. One of the strongest supporters of the Establishment Clause was Fisher Ames of Masachusetts a state that considered government support of religion essential. He clearly believed that the Amendment applied only to the federal government and would not affect his state s role in religion. Back and forth, back and forth. Senate to House and back again. Ultimately, as often happens in politics, it came down to horse-trading. The House agreed to accept the Senate s wording on 16 other amendments, in order to get the House s version of the First Amendment. Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. I think it s important to note that Congress clearly did not oppose all government involvement in religion. They supported church use of government buildings, including the CAPITOL building.
When Washington D. C. became the national capital in 1800, Congress voted that the Capitol building would also serve as a church building. President Jefferson chose to attend church each Sunday at the Capitol and even provided the service with paid government musicians to assist in its worship. Jefferson also began similar Christian services in his own Executive Branch, both at the Treasury Building and at the War Office Over the years, there have been objections to public religious expressions by legislative chaplains supported through State budgets. The House Report on March 27, 1854, noted On the 1 st day of May [1789], Washington s first speech was read to the House, and the first business after that speech was the appointment of Dr. Linn as chaplain. By whom was this plan made? Three out of six of that joint committee were members of the Convention that framed the Constitution. Madison, Ellsworth, and Sherman passed directly from the hall of the [Constitutional] Convention to the hall of Congress. Did they not know what was constitutional?... Interestingly, a century later, the U. S. Supreme Court reached a similar conclusion, declaring: We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.... When the State encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions. For it then respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public service to their spiritual needs. To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups. That would be preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe. In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville noted in Democracy in America that there was a separation of CHURCH and state in America, but NOT a separation of RELIGION and state. When researching the Founding Fathers religious beliefs, for every quote favoring religion, you find one opposing it. So, I thought it more useful to read their final words on the subject quotes from their final years. They never stopped examining life s deepest questions. Like most intellectuals, their views had grown, evolved, and settled over the years. The third criteria for interpreting the Constitution is to look at case law and how the courts have looked at constitutional issues over the years. In Dred Scott v. Sanford, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote on interpreting the Constitution: It (the constitution) speaks not only in the same words, but with the same meaning and intent with which it spoke when it came from the hands of the Framers. Unfortunately, I believe that the Courts have not done a very good job in keeping true to the spirit of the Founding Fathers. While President, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter responding to an inquiry from the Danbury Baptist Association. At the time, they were a persecuted religious minority and wanted assurance from the president that their rights were secure. In his reply, Jefferson wrote I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.
This has been the most misinterpreted metaphor in the debate over state vs national rights and powers. If you look at Jefferson s writings as a whole, it is clear that he is referring to a separation of NATIONAL government and church, NOT of the local governments. He even underlined the word THEIR before legislature to further make his point clear. Jefferson was always consistent in his belief that the constitution limited the Federal government NOT state and local governments. Unfortunately, this line about a WALL was picked up by Justice Black in 1947 s Everson v Board of Education where he wrote of the WALL of separation in his decision The establishment of religion clause means at least this: Neither a state nor the federal government may set up a church. Neither can pass laws that aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion.... Neither a state or the federal government may, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect 'a wall of separation between church and state.'" In this decision, All nine justices agreed that the clause was intended to do far more than merely prohibit the establishment of a state religion. The 14 th Amendment, added after the Civil War, applied the Bill of Rights to state and local governments, something the Founding Fathers were clearly not expecting when they wrote the Constitution and first amendments. Since the addition of the 14 th amendment, there have been many court decisions that further separate church from state. Everson v Board of Education in 1962 was the 1 st time the Supreme Court applied the separation of church and state to the states. In McCollum v Board of Ed, the Supreme Court prohibited teaching of religion in schools (even though the case include an equality of denominations which would have pleased Jefferson). In Engle V Vitale, the Supreme Court outlawed prescribed, non-denominational prayers in school. The decision did not apply to voluntary prayers, but that did not stop the states from further restricting prayer in schools. Abington School District v Schempp outlawed the Lord s Prayer and Bible reading from public schools. To help interpret the establishment clause, the Court uses several tests, including the Lemon, coercion, endorsement and neutrality tests. Using the Lemon test, a court must first determine whether the law or government action in question has a bona fide secular purpose. Second, a court would ask whether the state action has the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion. Finally, the court would consider whether the action excessively entangles religion and government The Court later identified three primary criteria for determining whether a government action has a primary effect of advancing religion: 1) government indoctrination, 2) defining the recipients of government benefits based on religion, and 3) excessive entanglement between government and religion. Coercion test Under this test the government does not violate the establishment clause unless it (1) provides direct aid to religion in a way that would tend to establish a state church, or (2) coerces people to support or participate in religion against their will Endorsement test The endorsement test, proposed by Justice Sandra Day O Connor, asks whether a particular
government action amounts to an endorsement of religion. She wrote, The Establishment Clause prohibits government from making adherence to a religion relevant in any way to a person's standing in the political communitythe endorsement test is often invoked in situations where the government is engaged in expressive activities. Therefore, situations involving such things as graduation prayers, religious signs on government property, religion in the curriculum, etc., will usually be examined in light of this test. Neutrality While the Court looks to the endorsement test in matters of expression, questions involving use of government funds are increasingly determined under the rubric of neutrality. Under neutrality, the government would treat religious groups the same as other similarly situated groups. Overall, the Court has demonstrated a willingness to strike down any practices that might be likely to be perceived IN ANY WAY either as coercive or as a state endorsement of religion. It s clear that the Founding Fathers desire that religion, morality AND knowledge be taught in public schools was dead in the water.