Episode 1: Christianity and the Founding of the American Republic

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I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.

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The First Amendment was written not to protect the people and their laws from

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religious values, but to protect those values from government tyranny.

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And I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk that's not in the Constitution.

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The separation of church and state is a misnomer. People misunderstand it.

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Of course, it comes from a phrase that was in a letter that Jefferson wrote

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is not in the Constitution.

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Americans are under attack by an extremist, religious right-wing agenda that

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has been working for decades to undermine our constitutional rights and erode

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the separation between church and state.

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They say separation between church and state, they told me. I said,

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alright, let's forget about that for one time.

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Was the United States really founded as a Christian nation?

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What does the Constitution actually say? And what does the separation of church

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and state even mean? Christianity and the founding of the American Republic

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on this episode of History you can use.

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Welcome to History You Can Use. I'm Brian Thomas. Was the United States really

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founded as a Christian nation?

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We hear it all the time, and it dominates so many different political discussions these days.

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But one's answer often is intertwined with their political arguments.

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If we really want to understand the role of Christianity and the formation of

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the country, we need to put the political debates aside. So let's do that.

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Our search for answers begins in the stormy seas of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

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The year was 1620, and if you were raised in the United States,

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you probably know this story.

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A small group of religious outcasts, we'll call them pilgrims,

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set sail from Europe seeking religious freedom in the New World.

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Aboard their trusty ship, the Mayflower, the pilgrims endured a difficult two-month

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journey in cold and cramped living conditions and surviving on a meager ration of food.

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They finally reached land at what is now known as Cape Cod in Massachusetts,

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where they established the Plymouth Colony.

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But the ensuing winter was brutally cold, food was in short supply,

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and the very survival of the colony was in question.

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Nonetheless, they did survive, and the next autumn, they enjoyed a bountiful harvest.

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To express their gratitude to God for both safe passage across the Atlantic

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and deliverance from the terrible winter, they feasted for three days,

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welcomed the local Indian tribes and gave birth to that beloved American holiday, Thanksgiving.

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The Pilgrims went through so much just for the opportunity to freely practice

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their version of Christianity.

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It's an amazing origin story for the United States, lending itself to countless

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legends and some entertaining stage productions by children.

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But the Pilgrims weren't alone.

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Ten years later, Puritans, more formally known as Congregationalists,

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made the same arduous trip across the ocean and arrived in the same area,

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establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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The Puritans aimed to create a righteous society that would serve as a model

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for the rest of the Christian world, what their leader John Winthrop described as a city upon the hill.

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These New England colonies essentially functioned as small theocracies,

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with the church and colonial government practically inseparable.

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Church elders doubled as magistrates and legislators and governors,

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and laws and court decisions were based on their interpretation of the Bible.

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Historian Patricia Benomi provided an excellent summary of this relationship

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between church and state in the early colonies.

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Quote, Colonial leaders were concerned above all with creating stable New World communities,

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and it was an axiom of early 17th century political thought that a strong church

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was the handmaiden and bulwark of a stable state. End quote.

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In other words, they believed the church needed to be inseparable from the state

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because it provided moral direction and encouraged God's protection of the colony.

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Now let's head a little farther south and jump forward about 50 years.

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William Penn led his fellow worshipers in the Society of Friends,

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better known as Quakers, in the establishment of the Pennsylvania colony.

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Like the Pilgrims and Puritans, Quakers too were escaping persecution,

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and Pennsylvania was to be their refuge, where they could practice Christianity

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according to their own beliefs.

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And just like those colonies in New England, their interpretation of the Bible

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informed every aspect of the colony they developed.

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In short, religious freedom, especially the freedom to practice the Christian

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faith, was a key motivation for colonists in the New World, and the Bible was

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a foundation of civil law.

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Jumping forward another 50 years, we find the colonies awash in religious fervor.

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You might remember hearing about the Great Awakening, but what you might not

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remember is how influential it was to the colonial psyche.

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Some of the most impassioned preachers history has ever produced fired the souls

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of the colonists with renewed conviction and Christian piety.

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Church memberships swelled and people crowded to hear them speak.

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And these guys were really good.

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Take, for example, Jonathan Edwards. It is not unlikely that this work of God's

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Spirit is a prelude of that glorious work of God, which shall renew the world of mankind.

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We cannot reasonably think otherwise than that the beginning of this great work

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of God must be near and will begin in America.

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See what I mean? These weren't your average everyday preachers.

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The glorious work of God that would renew mankind, referenced by Edwards,

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was the second coming of Christ.

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Many Great Awakening preachers ascribe to the view that Christ's return and

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his establishment of a thousand-year kingdom on earth,

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or the millennium, would be the result of human striving for righteousness and

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take place after a sufficient spread of the Christian faith.

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And like Edwards, many of the most famous preachers of the era predicted the

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time of the millennium was near and the work of bringing it about fell squarely

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on the shoulders of the North American colonists.

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You might say the Great Awakening preachers and their followers were the original

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Christian evangelicals.

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Even after the zeal of the Great Awakening receded, the idea that America was

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uniquely chosen by God and tasked with achieving the necessary conditions for

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Christ's second coming continued to influence the faithful.

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As the colonies hurtled toward rebellion, millennial beliefs drove many into the patriot cause.

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Historian Charles Royster poured through countless letters trying to understand

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the thoughts and emotions of the common soldier.

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He summarized his findings regarding the spiritual aspects of the army.

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Quote, As an inspirational expression of hopes shared at least in part by almost

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all revolutionaries, the millennium pervaded people's understanding of the revolution.

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End quote. To a greater or lesser extent, soldiers in the American Revolution

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believed they were fighting for America's unique Christian destiny.

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This is what today we would call American exceptionalism.

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On the eve of the American Revolution, the Christian religion,

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in one form or another, appeared ingrained into the very fabric of colonial society.

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Nine of the 13 colonies had an official religion, with congregationalism predominant

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in New England and the Anglican church prevailing in the southern colonies and New York.

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Taxes supported clergy and churches. People were excluded from holding governmental

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office unless they swore a belief in the established religion and preaching

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another faith opened one to criminal prosecution.

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And yes, that did actually happen. There's a handful of documented cases where

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Puritan New Englanders executed Quakers for, well, being Quakers.

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When the revolution did come, everyone from the farmer serving in the militia

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to the commanding general of the Continental Army beseeched God for his protection and deliverance.

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And there was little doubt that the deity invoked by most of the soldiers was the Christian god.

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Nearly three years into the war, Washington reminded his men,

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While we are duly performing the duty of good soldiers, we certainly ought not

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to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion.

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To the distinguished character of a patriot, it should be our highest glory

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to add the more distinguished character of a Christian.

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Throughout the war, the Continental Congress repeatedly passed proclamations

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asking the populace to pray and give thanks to God.

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When victory came, it validated for many the idea that the new nation the United

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States, was delivered by divine providence and unique in its duty of bringing

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about the second coming of Christ.

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The new country, it seemed, was a land and a people chosen by God.

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You know, American exceptionalism. There is no doubt that Christianity pervaded

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the early North American colonies, from their first founding through the end of the revolution.

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The influence was both formal, through the official establishment of religion

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in most colonies, and informal, through a sense of millennial purpose and a righteous destiny.

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At the core of its identity, the new United States was a Christian nation.

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So, when it was time to form a government and begin building the country's institutions,

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it seemed only natural that Christianity formed the foundation of those, right?

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Well, not exactly.

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You.

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Let's go back to that origin story of the Pilgrims, Puritans,

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and Quakers fleeing persecution and seeking the freedom to practice their Christian beliefs.

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Yeah, the truth is a bit more complex.

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All of those groups fled England because it was the Church of England,

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or the Anglican Church, that was persecuting them.

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That's right. A Protestant Christian church was persecuting other Protestant

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Christians because of differences in theology and practice.

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It was a persistent fear throughout the colonial era that the Anglican church

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might be established as the official religion throughout the North American colonies.

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Although there's little evidence the Church of England planned to do this,

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the fear of renewed religious persecution was palpable and created long-standing

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anxiety of a government-imposed religion.

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That's actually an important point, and we'll come back to it later.

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There's also one rather large problem with that origin story.

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It really only holds for the New England and Pennsylvania colonies.

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New York, for instance, was founded by the Dutch, and it wasn't for any religious purpose.

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The civil administration was under the control of the Dutch West India Company,

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and the primary purpose of the colony was trade, especially fur trading with

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the local native population.

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Like New York, the southern colonies were not established for religious reasons.

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Virginia and the Carolinas were focused on agricultural production.

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Maryland's charter was originally given to Catholics, but they weren't allowed

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to establish a Catholic colony for fear of anchoring Protestants.

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And Georgia? It was originally conceived as a colony, where the destitute in

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England could pay off debts through indentured servitude.

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And the mortality rate in the southern colonies was exceptionally high,

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due to disease and starvation and conflicts with native peoples.

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Making the primary goal survival, not Christian piety.

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The colonial governments in the South were in no position to be picky about

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their settlers and welcome people from all faiths, including a sizable number of Jews.

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At one point, there were so many Jewish arrivals in Georgia that a local magistrate

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actually feared a mass exodus of Protestants.

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And remember those little theocracies in the North, where church and state were inseparable?

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Well, they ran into a lot of problems very early.

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The Puritans in New England, for instance, actively prevented the teaching of

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conflicting beliefs and banished from their towns those preaching non-congregationalist

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ideas, like when they executed those Quakers.

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But as the colonies grew in size, it became increasingly difficult to control

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who came and went, and it was practically impossible to enforce religious requirements on the populace.

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Within 10 years of the Puritans' arrival, even the devout followers of the faith

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were frustrated with the unpredictability of church elders deciding law based

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on their interpretation of the Bible.

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As a result, colonial leaders were forced to clearly define the rights of the

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people and the laws of the colony.

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The Massachusetts Body of Liberties, as it became known, was the first document

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in the North American colonies to restrain the power of a colonial government,

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which, in effect, restrained the power of the church leaders.

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Pennsylvania, for its part, never excluded non-Quaker ideas from the colony.

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While Quaker beliefs predominated in the government, William Penn and his followers

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believed the Bible encouraged a pluralistic society and from the beginning welcomed

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Anglicans, German Lutherans, Scots-Irish Presbyterians, and Jews.

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So successful were their efforts at creating an inclusive and welcoming society

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that within 20 years of the colony's founding, Quakers were the minority in Pennsylvania.

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Although they maintained a principal role in the government for the next several

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decades, the Quaker foundations of the colony were weakened by the weight of

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an ever-increasing and religiously diverse population.

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In short, attempts at religious purity in New England and attempts at religious

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tolerance in Pennsylvania Both resulted in challenges to a religiously based

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government as the population increased.

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Again, historian Patricia Benomi best summarized the conclusion of colonial leaders.

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Quote, The axiom that a single established church best served the order and

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stability of the state came under challenge to a greater or lesser degree in

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all colonies. End quote.

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By the time of the American Revolution, The integration of state and religion

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was considered by many to be a failed experiment.

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It's important to acknowledge the considerable intellectual changes that swept

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Western civilization during the 18th century.

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Yes, the Great Awakening promoted religious virtue.

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But the Enlightenment questioned everything from religious doctrine to the source

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from which governments draw their power.

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Empirical observation and especially rational thought were promoted by the likes

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of Voltaire and John Locke as the avenues to truth, while the authority of the

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church was attacked as never before.

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Literate men and women devoured Enlightenment writings and many left the Christian church.

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Take, for example, the most famous man in all the colonies at the outbreak of

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the revolution, Benjamin Franklin.

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There's a lot we could say about Ben. He was an inventor, philosopher,

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scientist, diplomat, playboy, and lapsed Puritan.

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Ben's parents were devout Congregationalists and raised him in the church,

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but he turned away from Christian dogma during his teenage years as he enthusiastically

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read the works of Enlightenment thinkers.

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Not only that, Ben went on to be one of the colony's most celebrated Enlightenment luminaries.

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You know that whole tale about flying a kite in a lightning storm to demonstrate electricity?

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Yeah, Europeans really loved that story.

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Another leading colonial intellectual, Thomas Jefferson,

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also was raised in a Christian household, the Anglican church to be exact,

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but he went on to reject many of the fundamental tenets of Christianity,

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going so far as to take a razor blade to the Bible, cutting out all the parts

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that reference supernatural elements.

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Jesus walking on water literally didn't make the cut.

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Raising Lazarus from the dead, nope, even Christ's resurrection, gone.

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However, this Jefferson Bible left those pieces that detailed Jesus' moral teachings,

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with which Jefferson generally agreed.

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To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine

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precepts of Jesus himself.

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I am a Christian, in the only sense he wished anyone to be, sincerely attached

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to his doctrines in preference to all others.

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I know. We made Jefferson sound a little boring.

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But hey, he was soft-spoken and just not a very good speaker.

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Anyway, like Jefferson and Franklin, many of those who turned away from the

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Christian church were nonetheless instilled from their youth with a sense of

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Christian morality and purpose.

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It's no secret that Jefferson and many of the other founders were big fans of

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Christ's moral philosophy, including caring for the less fortunate and treating people with respect.

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Character and morality were viewed as critical traits for the nation's leaders

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and the electorate to ensure the success of the new republic.

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As such, several founders recommended the Bible as a foundational text for the

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nation's relatively few schools, largely because of its moral lessons,

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not necessarily to foster a belief in Christ's divinity.

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Enlightenment principles emphasized rational thought, and rational thought forced

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Jefferson and others to abandon the belief that events occurring in the world

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were influenced by the hand of God.

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However, Enlightenment thinkers failed to offer a suitable explanation for the

00:18:04.704 --> 00:18:08.484
creation of the world, which could effectively replace the idea of God.

00:18:08.764 --> 00:18:13.784
As a result, many of the founding fathers of the United States are often considered deists.

00:18:14.044 --> 00:18:17.824
They believed in a supernatural deity that set the world in motion.

00:18:18.264 --> 00:18:20.664
And that's about where their religious beliefs ended.

00:18:21.244 --> 00:18:25.844
Rather than seeing Jesus as the savior of man, deists viewed him as a teacher

00:18:25.844 --> 00:18:28.964
of natural law, of the world as God created it.

00:18:29.484 --> 00:18:33.644
Other early influential leaders, like John Adams, also were raised in the church

00:18:33.644 --> 00:18:38.544
and heavily influenced by its moral teachings, but later leaned toward Unitarianism,

00:18:38.784 --> 00:18:42.964
or the belief that the Christian God is a single entity, not a trinity,

00:18:43.684 --> 00:18:47.284
creating a sort of middle ground between deism and Christianity.

00:18:48.383 --> 00:18:51.923
The Declaration of Independence, primarily authored by Jefferson,

00:18:52.263 --> 00:18:56.683
with input from Adams and Franklin and a few others, reflects these influences.

00:18:57.103 --> 00:19:02.103
The Declaration never references Christ or even a specific understanding of

00:19:02.103 --> 00:19:04.783
God, instead mentioning nature's

00:19:04.783 --> 00:19:10.443
God, a creator, the supreme judge of the world, and divine providence.

00:19:10.943 --> 00:19:15.143
No scripture is cited, and a Christian could read the words as relating to the

00:19:15.143 --> 00:19:19.083
Christian God The same as a Jew could read it as relating to the Jewish God

00:19:19.083 --> 00:19:24.523
Or a deist as relating to their own understanding of God What is unmistakable, though,

00:19:24.703 --> 00:19:30.203
is the heavy influence of the Enlightenment When Jefferson writes We hold these

00:19:30.203 --> 00:19:35.723
truths to be self-evident That all men are created equal That they are endowed

00:19:35.723 --> 00:19:41.303
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights That among these are life, liberty,

00:19:41.523 --> 00:19:46.243
and the pursuit of happiness He is clearly nodding to John Locke's argument

00:19:46.243 --> 00:19:51.403
that the very purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.

00:19:51.943 --> 00:19:56.403
Jefferson again borrowed from Locke when he continued, To secure these rights,

00:19:56.583 --> 00:20:02.243
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

00:20:02.483 --> 00:20:06.583
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends,

00:20:06.823 --> 00:20:12.603
it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.

00:20:12.603 --> 00:20:18.143
Jefferson here is taking a veiled swipe at the role of religion and government You see,

00:20:18.223 --> 00:20:22.343
kings often claimed to rule by divine right which is the belief that they were

00:20:22.343 --> 00:20:26.683
chosen by God and the church was a mechanism through which kings controlled

00:20:26.683 --> 00:20:31.703
the people Arguing instead that governments are instituted among men and derive

00:20:31.703 --> 00:20:35.463
their power from the consent of the people inherently meant reducing,

00:20:35.683 --> 00:20:39.863
if not eliminating the role of God and the church in government.

00:20:40.587 --> 00:20:44.967
It was a core Enlightenment ideal that religious tolerance and freedom were

00:20:44.967 --> 00:20:49.687
necessary in a free society, a principle with which Jefferson wholly agreed.

00:20:49.987 --> 00:20:54.907
Because of this, most historians reject the idea that the Declaration of Independence

00:20:54.907 --> 00:20:58.947
was ever intended to exclusively reference the Christian God.

00:21:07.728 --> 00:21:11.728
Shortly after the beginning of the revolution, the Continental Congress passed

00:21:11.728 --> 00:21:14.988
and the states ratified the Articles of Confederation.

00:21:15.528 --> 00:21:18.828
If you don't recall much about the Articles, that's okay.

00:21:19.148 --> 00:21:22.688
It wasn't a very successful form of government, and it didn't last long.

00:21:22.928 --> 00:21:28.468
But for our purposes, it's important because it was the first framework of a national government.

00:21:28.848 --> 00:21:33.108
There's no direct mention of God in the Articles, but there is a reference to

00:21:33.108 --> 00:21:38.308
the great governor of the world. The writer is again choosing a nonspecific term.

00:21:38.548 --> 00:21:42.788
The document provided for a weak federal government and a multitude of problems

00:21:42.788 --> 00:21:46.628
between and among the states led to the drafting of a new constitution.

00:21:47.068 --> 00:21:50.548
But there's a few things to point out before getting to the constitution.

00:21:51.028 --> 00:21:55.648
First, several colonies had recognized the Anglican Church as their official

00:21:55.648 --> 00:21:57.428
religion prior to the revolution.

00:21:58.188 --> 00:22:02.908
But, understandably, distanced themselves from the Church of England when the

00:22:02.908 --> 00:22:07.508
war began, resulting in the majority of states not supporting a specific religion

00:22:07.508 --> 00:22:09.408
by the time the Constitution was written.

00:22:09.888 --> 00:22:13.968
Second, while New England states continued to support the Congregationalist

00:22:13.968 --> 00:22:18.908
Church, the challenges of excluding other religions resulted in the states acknowledging

00:22:18.908 --> 00:22:23.288
that other churches may be supported, although this was mostly a token gesture.

00:22:23.768 --> 00:22:27.868
But the most important development for our topic was in Virginia.

00:22:28.388 --> 00:22:32.828
Soon after writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote what

00:22:32.828 --> 00:22:38.448
he called An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom and notes in his journal, quote,

00:22:39.108 --> 00:22:44.308
neither pagan nor Mohammedan nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights

00:22:44.308 --> 00:22:47.548
of the Commonwealth because of his religion, end quote.

00:22:47.928 --> 00:22:53.548
That word Mohammedan is just an old-fashioned way of saying Muslim. You heard that right.

00:22:53.888 --> 00:22:57.228
Almost immediately after writing the Declaration of Independence,

00:22:57.968 --> 00:23:00.928
Thomas Jefferson was concerned about protecting the rights of Jews,

00:23:01.328 --> 00:23:03.808
Muslims, and what he called pagans.

00:23:04.686 --> 00:23:09.326
The act itself took aim at any hint of the establishment of a state religion,

00:23:09.626 --> 00:23:13.306
including requiring citizens to pay taxes to support clergy or churches.

00:23:13.546 --> 00:23:17.806
As Jefferson believed, it coerced people into paying for the promotion of beliefs

00:23:17.806 --> 00:23:23.426
with which they might disagree, and thus violated their civil and natural rights.

00:23:23.646 --> 00:23:27.426
He even went so far as to call the practice sinful, tyrannical,

00:23:27.626 --> 00:23:32.166
bribery, and criminal, and he wrote that right into the act. Ouch.

00:23:32.686 --> 00:23:38.326
Just so we're clear, That's Thomas Jefferson throwing an 18th century haymaker at his opponents.

00:23:38.726 --> 00:23:42.406
He was expecting a fight. And he got one.

00:23:44.846 --> 00:23:49.326
But when the revolution was over, and it was time to fight legislative battles,

00:23:50.086 --> 00:23:53.346
Jefferson had a rather large problem. He wasn't around.

00:23:53.926 --> 00:23:57.746
Shortly after the revolution was won, Jefferson was appointed the U.S.

00:23:57.846 --> 00:24:01.646
Minister to France, and he left for Paris, where he spent the next four years.

00:24:02.266 --> 00:24:07.706
So, as any good leader does, he delegated, turning the act over to his protege,

00:24:08.026 --> 00:24:14.506
James Madison, a Virginia state legislator and future fourth president of the United States.

00:24:15.206 --> 00:24:18.746
Virginia's governor at the time was Patrick Henry. You know him,

00:24:19.066 --> 00:24:24.446
the fiery and gifted orator who shortly before the revolution famously declared,

00:24:24.586 --> 00:24:27.046
give me liberty or give me death.

00:24:27.346 --> 00:24:30.646
Henry had championed a bill that would have levied a tax for supporting what

00:24:30.646 --> 00:24:33.226
he called Teachers of the Christian Religion.

00:24:33.586 --> 00:24:37.566
Henry's bill allowed that each individual taxpayer may choose the Christian

00:24:37.566 --> 00:24:38.866
denomination that would receive

00:24:38.866 --> 00:24:43.926
his monies, but only Christian faiths qualified for taxpayer support.

00:24:44.426 --> 00:24:49.286
Madison led the charge against Henry's proposal, writing a widely circulated

00:24:49.286 --> 00:24:53.706
petition called A Memorial and Remonstrance, where he argued,

00:24:54.006 --> 00:24:59.346
quote, religion must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man, end quote.

00:24:59.346 --> 00:25:03.886
Madison's case was persuasive and effectively killed Henry's bill.

00:25:04.615 --> 00:25:09.195
After its defeat, the time had come for Madison to introduce Jefferson's Act

00:25:09.195 --> 00:25:10.715
for Establishing Religious Freedom.

00:25:11.335 --> 00:25:15.775
Now it was Henry's turn to play the role of spoiler. Both sides unleashed their

00:25:15.775 --> 00:25:19.255
partisan forces and letters poured into Richmond from across the Commonwealth.

00:25:19.635 --> 00:25:24.015
In the end, the legislature approved Madison and Jefferson's proposal.

00:25:26.435 --> 00:25:31.035
Henry was down for the count. He decided not to serve another term and left

00:25:31.035 --> 00:25:32.535
the governorship a month later.

00:25:33.315 --> 00:25:37.315
Jefferson viewed the passage of the bill as one of his proudest accomplishments in public life,

00:25:37.855 --> 00:25:41.375
later saying in his autobiography that the act was meant to protect,

00:25:41.575 --> 00:25:46.035
quote, the Jew, the Gentile, the Christian, the Mohammedan, the Hindu,

00:25:46.215 --> 00:25:49.115
and infidel of every denomination, end quote.

00:25:49.755 --> 00:25:52.655
Madison, for his part, didn't stay in Virginia for long.

00:25:52.955 --> 00:25:56.775
The Virginia Resolution for Religious Freedom, as it was called in its final

00:25:56.775 --> 00:26:03.295
form, passed in October 1786. A few months later, Madison led the Virginia delegation

00:26:03.295 --> 00:26:07.175
to the newly assembled Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

00:26:22.317 --> 00:26:26.937
Madison was a central figure in Philadelphia, and he was the primary architect

00:26:26.937 --> 00:26:29.117
of what became known as the Virginia Plan.

00:26:29.377 --> 00:26:33.897
It proposed a federal government with three branches, two houses in the legislative

00:26:33.897 --> 00:26:38.037
branch, and representation in the legislature based on state population.

00:26:38.477 --> 00:26:43.557
If that sounds just a little familiar, it's because the Virginia Plan largely

00:26:43.557 --> 00:26:47.477
served as the framework for the Constitution itself, and his efforts earned

00:26:47.477 --> 00:26:49.817
Madison the nickname Father of the Constitution.

00:26:50.217 --> 00:26:53.877
Unlike the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation,

00:26:54.377 --> 00:26:58.357
there is no explicit reference in the Constitution to any religious deity.

00:26:58.837 --> 00:27:04.437
In fact, the only place religion is even mentioned in the original document is in Article 6,

00:27:04.677 --> 00:27:08.757
a phrase introduced by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, which reads,

00:27:08.757 --> 00:27:14.517
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or

00:27:14.517 --> 00:27:16.857
public trust under the United States.

00:27:17.560 --> 00:27:20.460
The ratification of the Constitution was far from certain.

00:27:21.220 --> 00:27:26.020
Madison joined with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to author a series of newspaper

00:27:26.020 --> 00:27:30.260
articles designed to drum up popular support for the proposed form of government.

00:27:30.760 --> 00:27:34.500
Collectively, these articles are referred to as the Federalist Papers,

00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:39.300
and they give incredible insight into the thoughts of the original framers of the Constitution.

00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:44.700
Over the course of 85 articles, arguing for everything from the three-branch

00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:47.600
structure of the government to the need for checks and balances.

00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:51.720
The three men rarely ever discussed the topic of religion.

00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:57.160
In Federalist paper number 51, Madison alluded to religious rights when he said,

00:27:57.300 --> 00:28:03.040
In a free government, the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights.

00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:07.640
It consists in the one case in the multiplicity of interests and in the other

00:28:07.640 --> 00:28:09.460
in the multiplicity of sex.

00:28:10.060 --> 00:28:14.220
Madison's larger argument here is that the government must not be allowed to

00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:18.840
violate the civil and religious rights of individuals, and he was mainly concerned

00:28:18.840 --> 00:28:23.200
that a government of the majority might trample the rights of the minority.

00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:28.080
Disbursing the power of the federal government across different branches that

00:28:28.080 --> 00:28:33.460
all include a diversity of perspectives was the best safeguard against that happening.

00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.480
President Ronald Reagan, who you heard in our opening, was correct.

00:28:37.760 --> 00:28:42.000
A goal of the Constitution was to protect individual rights,

00:28:42.180 --> 00:28:46.240
including religious rights from what Reagan called government tyranny.

00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:51.720
But why would a government designed to create a free society ever want to violate

00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:54.840
an individual's religious rights? How would that even happen?

00:28:55.320 --> 00:28:57.300
Well, Madison had thoughts.

00:28:57.962 --> 00:29:01.382
And perhaps the most famous of the Federalist Papers, number 10,

00:29:01.822 --> 00:29:06.842
he wrote, A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part

00:29:06.842 --> 00:29:10.882
of the Confederacy, but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face

00:29:10.882 --> 00:29:15.642
of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source.

00:29:15.882 --> 00:29:20.282
Madison was warning against a particular religious group becoming an organized

00:29:20.282 --> 00:29:24.782
political force and holding too much power, which would allow for the persecution

00:29:24.782 --> 00:29:26.262
of religious minorities.

00:29:26.262 --> 00:29:30.842
Remember I said we'd come back to that fear of the Church of England being established

00:29:30.842 --> 00:29:33.002
throughout the colonies? Here it is.

00:29:33.722 --> 00:29:38.302
The Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers fled England because they were being persecuted

00:29:38.302 --> 00:29:43.602
by an organized, established church, and Madison had no desire to see that situation

00:29:43.602 --> 00:29:45.482
repeat itself in the United States.

00:29:45.702 --> 00:29:50.702
Also, religious persecution was ongoing in Catholic France and Catholic Spain

00:29:50.702 --> 00:29:55.942
at the time the Constitution was written. there was a significant fear that

00:29:55.942 --> 00:30:00.662
religious intolerance would undermine the free society the founders sought to create.

00:30:01.401 --> 00:30:05.661
This is the part that President Reagan left out. A government based on a particular

00:30:05.661 --> 00:30:10.841
religion was viewed by the founders as the most significant threat to religious freedom.

00:30:11.321 --> 00:30:15.401
Today we might talk about fascist or communist governments threatening religious

00:30:15.401 --> 00:30:19.201
freedoms, but those concepts didn't really exist in the 18th century.

00:30:19.421 --> 00:30:24.361
And, if we're being honest, the only religious force that could take over the

00:30:24.361 --> 00:30:32.061
government in the United States in 1788 was Christianity or some specific Christian denomination.

00:30:32.321 --> 00:30:37.461
In other words, one could easily read Madison's comments as promoting religious

00:30:37.461 --> 00:30:42.501
diversity in order to prevent a Christian takeover of the government.

00:30:42.741 --> 00:30:46.121
It's also worth noting that Madison, in Federalist Paper No.

00:30:46.201 --> 00:30:50.901
52, referenced the Pinckney Clause forbidding a religious test for holding office.

00:30:51.141 --> 00:30:55.001
It's only mentioned in passing to note that individuals may be elected to the

00:30:55.001 --> 00:30:59.261
House of Representatives without consideration of various personal characteristics.

00:30:59.661 --> 00:31:03.581
The reason this clause didn't get more attention by the writers of the Federalist

00:31:03.581 --> 00:31:08.621
Papers is that it wasn't particularly controversial or even debated within the

00:31:08.621 --> 00:31:09.721
Constitutional Convention.

00:31:09.961 --> 00:31:15.161
However, it was the subject of debate once the document reached the states for ratification.

00:31:15.501 --> 00:31:20.321
Some feared the clause may result in Catholics or Jews or Muslims holding offices

00:31:20.321 --> 00:31:24.681
in the new government, while others countered that religious tests had formed

00:31:24.681 --> 00:31:27.081
the basis for persecution throughout history.

00:31:27.281 --> 00:31:31.541
In the end, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states

00:31:31.541 --> 00:31:33.461
with the Pinckney Clause included.

00:31:34.539 --> 00:31:39.419
One of the initial tasks of the first Congress in 1789 was the drafting of amendments

00:31:39.419 --> 00:31:43.719
to the Constitution that enumerated the rights of citizens, thereby restraining

00:31:43.719 --> 00:31:44.719
the federal government.

00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:50.219
Again, it was James Madison in the lead, this time as an elected representative from Virginia.

00:31:50.499 --> 00:31:54.499
Only a few years removed from his successful defense of the Virginia Statute

00:31:54.499 --> 00:31:58.499
for Religious Freedom, Madison brought the intention and effect of that document

00:31:58.499 --> 00:32:00.019
to the national discussion.

00:32:00.379 --> 00:32:04.279
Choosing his words carefully, so as not to alienate the New England states,

00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:07.839
who still recognized congregationalism as their established religion.

00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:12.779
He wrote the opening line of the First Amendment, commonly known as the Establishment

00:32:12.779 --> 00:32:14.479
and Free Exercise Clauses.

00:32:14.659 --> 00:32:19.199
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting

00:32:19.199 --> 00:32:20.839
the free exercise thereof.

00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:23.799
The Bill of Rights was ratified about two years later.

00:32:23.999 --> 00:32:27.239
The primary opposition came from the likes of Alexander Hamilton,

00:32:27.459 --> 00:32:30.319
who opposed placing more restrictions on the federal government.

00:32:30.439 --> 00:32:33.639
But little debate focused on any one specific amendment.

00:32:34.299 --> 00:32:37.979
However, there is evidence from the same time period that gives us a greater

00:32:37.979 --> 00:32:42.459
insight into the intended meaning of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses.

00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:46.919
Less than five years after the Bill of Rights was ratified, the United States

00:32:46.919 --> 00:32:50.859
entered a treaty with the Muslim states in North Africa, designed to put an

00:32:50.859 --> 00:32:53.879
end to attacks on U.S. shipping by the Barbary pirates.

00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:56.939
In the Treaty of Tripoli, it is clearly stated.

00:33:04.699 --> 00:33:09.339
The purpose of the clause was to clarify that no pretext existed that should

00:33:09.339 --> 00:33:12.619
result in religious conflict between the U.S. and the Muslim states.

00:33:12.919 --> 00:33:17.539
President John Adams signed the treaty after it was unanimously ratified by the Senate.

00:33:18.263 --> 00:33:22.303
A few years later, President Thomas Jefferson received a letter from a group

00:33:22.303 --> 00:33:26.583
of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut, wanting to know his position on religious matters.

00:33:26.983 --> 00:33:32.683
In what is often referred to as the Danbury Letter, Jefferson responded in a now-famous manner.

00:33:33.143 --> 00:33:36.683
Religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God.

00:33:36.843 --> 00:33:41.383
I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people,

00:33:41.543 --> 00:33:46.663
which declare that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment

00:33:46.663 --> 00:33:51.723
of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of

00:33:51.723 --> 00:33:54.403
separation between church and state.

00:33:54.603 --> 00:33:58.023
This is the letter that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson referenced in our

00:33:58.023 --> 00:34:00.243
opening. And Speaker Johnson is correct.

00:34:00.583 --> 00:34:06.423
The term separation of church and state never actually appears in the Constitution.

00:34:06.843 --> 00:34:11.423
But remembering that Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,

00:34:11.643 --> 00:34:16.823
which served as the foundation of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment,

00:34:17.183 --> 00:34:21.063
and he was the mentor, ally, and confidant of James Madison,

00:34:21.223 --> 00:34:23.063
who actually wrote the First Amendment.

00:34:23.943 --> 00:34:26.943
Jefferson is a pretty reliable source to speak on its meaning.

00:34:27.670 --> 00:34:32.410
Years later, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling where it cited the Danbury

00:34:32.410 --> 00:34:38.410
letter and said that Jefferson's metaphor of a wall of separation between church and state, quote,

00:34:39.030 --> 00:34:44.430
may be accepted as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the

00:34:44.430 --> 00:34:46.030
First Amendment, end quote.

00:34:46.550 --> 00:34:52.110
Ever since, the separation of church and state has become a shorthand way of

00:34:52.110 --> 00:34:55.110
referring to the establishment and free exercise clauses.

00:35:02.430 --> 00:35:06.590
There were critics of the separation of church and state at each step in the process.

00:35:06.810 --> 00:35:12.290
But those who championed an overtly Christian recognition in the founding documents lost.

00:35:12.770 --> 00:35:16.970
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom succeeded over Henry's objections.

00:35:17.710 --> 00:35:22.830
Adams' Secretary of War, James McHenry, later said he objected to the clause

00:35:22.830 --> 00:35:24.970
in the Treaty of Tripoli stating that the U.S.

00:35:25.110 --> 00:35:29.210
Was not founded on the Christian religion. but the treaty was unanimously ratified

00:35:29.210 --> 00:35:30.810
and signed by the president anyway.

00:35:31.150 --> 00:35:35.570
The Constitution, including the Pinckney Clause preventing a religious test

00:35:35.570 --> 00:35:40.030
to hold office, was ratified in all 13 states over objections.

00:35:40.450 --> 00:35:44.070
Even Hamilton, who objected to the Bill of Rights because it restrained the

00:35:44.070 --> 00:35:45.910
federal government, lost.

00:35:46.350 --> 00:35:51.410
Those advocating for a clear separation of church and state won every significant

00:35:51.410 --> 00:35:56.190
battle along the way, keeping overtly Christian language and sanctioning out

00:35:56.190 --> 00:35:57.510
of the founding documents.

00:35:58.575 --> 00:36:04.275
Of the 39 signers of the Constitution, it's been argued that as many as 37 were Christians.

00:36:04.615 --> 00:36:09.315
The implication is that Christianity in some way formed the foundation of the document.

00:36:09.635 --> 00:36:13.715
Although that number is almost certainly inaccurate, the people who make that

00:36:13.715 --> 00:36:16.335
argument usually leave out most of the context.

00:36:16.775 --> 00:36:21.275
For instance, many of those signers who were professed and devout Christians

00:36:21.275 --> 00:36:24.055
didn't have much of a role in drafting the document.

00:36:24.395 --> 00:36:28.215
If I recited their names, you probably wouldn't recognize most of them.

00:36:28.575 --> 00:36:30.975
Their role was, at best, minor.

00:36:31.415 --> 00:36:34.695
Also, these arguments leave out important details.

00:36:35.015 --> 00:36:40.055
For instance, at one point, when the negotiations seemed to be at a standstill,

00:36:40.595 --> 00:36:45.075
Benjamin Franklin recommended that the delegates pray. And I know what you're thinking.

00:36:45.275 --> 00:36:49.755
That seems like a strange thing for a deist, right? But not really.

00:36:50.035 --> 00:36:54.635
In his older years, Franklin had edged closer to the belief that a supreme being

00:36:54.635 --> 00:36:58.235
was asserting some limited influence in the events of the world.

00:36:58.575 --> 00:37:02.955
Whatever or whoever that God might be. He still wasn't a Christian,

00:37:03.215 --> 00:37:04.855
but he knew some of his colleagues were.

00:37:05.255 --> 00:37:09.235
So, whatever their understanding of God, Christian or deist,

00:37:09.495 --> 00:37:10.875
what harm could prayer do?

00:37:11.255 --> 00:37:16.715
Well, the delegates actually declined Franklin's idea, prompting Ben to record

00:37:16.715 --> 00:37:21.155
in his notes, quote, the convention, except for three or four persons.

00:37:21.695 --> 00:37:24.655
Thought prayers unnecessary, end quote.

00:37:25.155 --> 00:37:29.335
So surprised was Ben, he ended that statement with an exclamation point.

00:37:30.135 --> 00:37:34.455
In short, there's just no convincing evidence that the framers of the Constitution

00:37:34.455 --> 00:37:38.875
as a group believed they were being guided by the hand of the Christian God.

00:37:39.653 --> 00:37:45.293
Lastly, it's difficult to say what many of the Founding Fathers actually believed about religion.

00:37:45.733 --> 00:37:49.493
Unlike today, most of the prominent political figures of the time,

00:37:49.713 --> 00:37:54.793
including many signers of the Constitution, did not publicly discuss religious matters.

00:37:55.053 --> 00:37:59.393
And when they did, it's often unclear whether they were endorsing a religious

00:37:59.393 --> 00:38:04.053
belief in Christ as the Messiah or only promoting the moral teachings of Jesus.

00:38:04.373 --> 00:38:09.013
For example, remember that quote earlier from General Washington urging his

00:38:09.013 --> 00:38:11.553
men to display the character of a Christian?

00:38:11.953 --> 00:38:16.733
Well, George was encouraging his men to be compassionate and show restraint

00:38:16.733 --> 00:38:18.693
when interacting with loyalist civilians.

00:38:19.493 --> 00:38:23.673
Based on his more personal writings, most historians believe George was probably

00:38:23.673 --> 00:38:28.333
a deist or maybe a Unitarian, although he often accompanied his devout wife

00:38:28.333 --> 00:38:30.213
Martha to Episcopalian services.

00:38:30.793 --> 00:38:35.053
John Adams and James Madison were likely Unitarians during the early years of

00:38:35.053 --> 00:38:38.273
the Republic, and Jefferson was almost certainly a deist.

00:38:38.513 --> 00:38:40.073
Although all of them held Jesus'

00:38:40.273 --> 00:38:44.633
teachings in high regard and frequently referenced God, if not Christ.

00:38:45.013 --> 00:38:47.393
Alexander Hamilton fluctuated in his

00:38:47.393 --> 00:38:51.233
religious beliefs but returned to his Episcopalian faith later in life.

00:38:51.653 --> 00:38:54.013
Nonetheless, Hamilton too believed

00:38:54.013 --> 00:38:57.153
that the government should not give preference to any one religion.

00:38:57.553 --> 00:39:03.413
And that brings up one final issue. Personal religious beliefs did not necessarily

00:39:03.413 --> 00:39:05.733
translate into political philosophy.

00:39:06.213 --> 00:39:10.093
Jefferson and Madison clearly believed in a complete separation of church and

00:39:10.093 --> 00:39:12.933
state, although they often mentioned God in their correspondence,

00:39:13.333 --> 00:39:18.213
while John Adams publicly sang the praises of Christian morality and at the

00:39:18.213 --> 00:39:21.433
same time despised the idea of organized religion.

00:39:21.813 --> 00:39:26.413
In short, it's difficult to interpret the religious beliefs of many of the founding

00:39:26.413 --> 00:39:29.853
generation from the brief glances we have available in their writings,

00:39:29.933 --> 00:39:35.373
and it's even more difficult to argue that those beliefs impacted their views on government.

00:39:36.286 --> 00:39:42.266
So, was the United States founded as a Christian nation? It depends on what that question means.

00:39:42.706 --> 00:39:46.406
Certainly, there is a wealth of evidence that Christianity was a central aspect

00:39:46.406 --> 00:39:51.266
of the American identity during the colonial era and at the time the country was founded.

00:39:51.926 --> 00:39:56.086
Christianity influenced the moral beliefs of the common man as well as the political

00:39:56.086 --> 00:39:59.746
and intellectual leaders of the time, including men like Jefferson and Franklin,

00:39:59.906 --> 00:40:02.186
who certainly did not consider themselves Christians.

00:40:02.806 --> 00:40:07.306
It's true. The moral teachings of the Bible were viewed by many as a guidepost

00:40:07.306 --> 00:40:09.746
to the development of the country's character.

00:40:10.066 --> 00:40:15.466
In this manner, Christianity can rightly be said to have formed the moral basis of the country.

00:40:15.906 --> 00:40:20.246
However, if that question is asking whether the founding documents of the country

00:40:20.246 --> 00:40:23.766
intended for the United States to be an overtly Christian nation,

00:40:23.986 --> 00:40:26.026
then the evidence goes in another direction.

00:40:26.366 --> 00:40:30.366
Long-standing fears of a government that might persecute religious minorities,

00:40:30.366 --> 00:40:35.526
including minority Christian denominations, led even those professing a Christian

00:40:35.526 --> 00:40:38.626
faith to oppose the entanglement of church and state.

00:40:38.926 --> 00:40:42.846
The First Amendment was designed to prevent the government from intruding on

00:40:42.846 --> 00:40:44.486
the religious beliefs of the individual.

00:40:44.766 --> 00:40:49.586
But the founders believed that was most likely to occur when a particular religion

00:40:49.586 --> 00:40:51.706
became a dominant force in the government.

00:40:52.186 --> 00:40:55.926
And Jefferson's explicit acknowledgement of the rights of Muslims,

00:40:56.126 --> 00:41:00.126
Jews, and Hindus, the success of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,

00:41:00.366 --> 00:41:03.926
and its foundational role in the establishment and free exercise clauses,

00:41:04.346 --> 00:41:09.226
even the Treaty of Tripoli, all argue against the idea that the founders restricted

00:41:09.226 --> 00:41:12.866
their concerns only to the free exercise of the Christian religion.

00:41:13.286 --> 00:41:16.906
Starting with the Declaration of Independence and moving forward through the

00:41:16.906 --> 00:41:20.946
Danbury letter, the documentary evidence leaves little doubt that the First

00:41:20.946 --> 00:41:22.946
Amendment, as written by Madison,

00:41:23.426 --> 00:41:27.626
heavily influenced by Jefferson, and certified by Congress and the states,

00:41:27.626 --> 00:41:31.366
was meant to disestablish religion from the government.

00:41:32.271 --> 00:41:37.191
So what do you think? Was the United States founded as a Christian nation?

00:41:37.551 --> 00:41:40.851
How you frame that question and its answer is up to you.

00:41:41.091 --> 00:41:44.951
But now you know the complexity of the issues surrounding that question,

00:41:45.111 --> 00:41:47.291
and that's history you can use.

00:42:11.431 --> 00:42:12.451
History You Can Use,

00:42:17.271 --> 00:42:20.451
You Can Use talkback episode. Have a suggestion for a future episode topic?

00:42:20.631 --> 00:42:22.091
You can drop us an email for that too.

00:42:22.311 --> 00:42:25.711
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00:42:25.711 --> 00:42:28.531
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