Deism of Madison, Washington, Adams, Franklin and Allen
The Library of Congress has 65,000 documents in its George Washington Papers collection complete with transcriptions. This includes his personal diaries. A text search for explicitly Christian words such as Jesus, Christ, Bible or redeemer shows not one case where Washington was explicitly endorsing or even personally referencing Christianity.
There is one quote that is sometimes cited on Christian web sites to document that Washington actively promoted Christianity. That quote, said to have been made to the Delaware Indian Chiefs in May 12, 1779, is, “What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.” The Library of Congress has sixteen other documents written by George Washington on this date. An address to the Delaware Indian Chiefs is not included in the on-line text for any date. The total absence of references to “Jesus” or “Christ” in the Library of Congress on-line record is not consistent with the theory that he was an active promoter of Christianity in any general sense. If this quote is valid it must be considered to be an unusual event in response to an unusual circumstance. It might have been composed by a subordinate as many of his documents were. If this document is valid, why is it not included in the on-line record when such a mass of other material is included?
Washington was a member of the Freemasons. He was an Acting Grand Master in full Masonic garb at the ceremony laying the cornerstone of the Capital building. He was the charter Master of Alexandria Lodge no 22 when it was created in 1788 and unanimously reelected later that year. He received Masonic rites from that lodge when he was buried at Mt. Vernon on December 18, 1799. (4)
Masonry is a fraternal order derived from the stone mason guilds of old Europe. It is pan-religious in that any belief in God is acceptable. A Jew, a Moslem or a Deist could each join a lodge on an equal basis. Prayers are offered in a lodge but never to Jesus Christ. That would offend members that were not Christian. Masonic teaching recognizes Jesus as a moral leader but not as divinity. A militant Christian would condemn the Freemasons as non-Christian for all of these reasons. The similarity to classical Deism is obvious and could easily explain the absence of specific Christian references in George Washington’s record.
John Adams
John Adams seemed to have a genuine fondness for Christianity while rejecting the divinity of Jesus the person and miracles in general. This means that both freethinkers and Christians claim Adams as one of their own. The truth is much more complex.
He did want to found the nation on reason and not on religion. There are many famous and well documented quotes from Adams concerning his desire for a nation based on reason and the non-miraculous:
“The question before the human race is, whether the God of nature shall govern the world by his own laws, or whether priests and kings shall rule it by fictitious miracles?” --letter to Thomas Jefferson, June 20, 1815
He also said, “The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history.” (5)
“Thirteen governments [of the original states] thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind.” (6)
“As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" Letter to F. A. Van der Kamp, December 27, 1816.
Adams explicitly confirmed that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation when he signed the Treaty of Tripoli: "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion ...." Article 11, Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary.
It should be noted that a printed copy of this treaty was given to each Senator, it was read aloud and it was passed by a unanimous vote on June 10, 1797. This was only the third unanimous vote in the first 339 recorded votes of the Senate. This demonstrates that the consensus of the nation at that time was that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation. (7)
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History of American Government
Foundational Documents of the United States
