Foundational Documents of the United States
“in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States”
This paragraph does include the phrase “a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence.” This hopeful expression should not be surprising to anyone that understood Jefferson and his view of Deism. Providence is a rather standard term in the vocabulary of Deists. Jefferson also said “I swear, before the altar of God, eternal hostility to every form of tyranny over the mind of man." This last quote can be taken to be religious but in reality it is response to attacks on him from clerics and others appalled by his “atheism.” His Deism is consistent with the use of religious imagery even though he had no belief whatever in the divinity of Jesus, and, therefore, could not by any stretch of imagination be called "Christian.” The religious imagery of Deism could be very effective in communicating shared values with Christians without being a Christian.
The Constitution starts by defining the basis of government; “We the People of the United States.” Madison was a primary author of the Constitution and is often said to be the “Father of the Constitution.” He spoke often during the Constitutional Convention and kept meticulous records of the process. He was one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers that were instrumental in promoting the Constitution to the states. His leadership was important in the ratification of the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights that were to follow.
Madison’s Deism was as explicit as Jefferson’s. He is quoted saying, “What influence in fact have ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on reigns of Civil authority; in many cases they have seen the upholding of the throne of political tyranny: in no instance have they been seen to be the guardians of the liberty of the people.” (3)
This choice to understand the power of government to derive from the people was the choice not just of Jefferson and Madison but of many religious denominations that found their religious liberty infringed by state religions. The political alliance between Enlightenment rationalists and evangelicals was first exhibited in the drafting of the Virginia Constitution led by James Madison. The evangelicals did not want a state church with its assessment provided to a church not of their choice. There were petitions with over 13,000 signatures filed and they were twelve to one against an assessment for a Virginia state church. The lawmakers were overwhelmingly against acknowledging Jesus the Christ in the Virginia Constitution. The Virginia Constitution was taken as a model for the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. (4)
Article nine of the Constitution explicitly precludes any religious test for public office: “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
The only reference to Christianity in the Constitution is the date; “the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven.” This is obviously a formality and has no bearing in law.
The fact that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation was specifically confirmed by 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.
This treaty was signed on November 4, 1796 and approved by the Senate on June 7, 1797 without controversy. President John Adams signed it into law three days later.
Most of the historically important leaders of the Revolutionary War period were Deists.
Related Essay:
Deism of Madison, Washington, Adams, Franklin and Allen
References:
(1) Julian P. Boyd, Edited by Gerald W. Gawalt. The Declaration of Independence: The Evolution of the Text, By Revised Edition, The Library of Congress in association with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, Inc., University Press of New England (1999) p. 60
Web available at:
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/doitj.htm
(2) John E. Remsburg, Six Historic Americans
(3) Thomas E Buckley, Church and State in Revolutionary Virginia, 1977
(4) Susan Jacoby, Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, pages 23-24.
History of American Government
Foundational Documents of the United States
