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Also, try to understand that our founding fathers believed in deism, and may not have necessarily considered themselves to be Christian. They believed in a higher power called God, and in Natural Law, but were probably not as encumbered by denomination obsession as we are today.

I am getting a little tired of this canard. The truth is that calling "the founding fathers" Deists is flat out wrong. A small number of them may have been undefined "deists" but the vast majority of them were Christians of various denominations. In fact, only THREE of the founding fathers professed "Deism" as a faith... which was mostly undefined and most likely represented a way to avoid claiming one faith or denomination over another but to also say "I believe in God".

The record is clear:

The denominational affiliations of these men were a matter of public record. Among the {55] delegates {to the Constitutional Convention} were 28 Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unknown, and only 3 deists--Williamson, Wilson, and Franklin--this at a time when church membership entailed a sworn public confession of biblical faith.

Sectarianism was rampant in the period with mostly friendly rivalry until it came down to matters of doctrine... and then amity was tossed out and disputes often escalated to violence. The formation of the new nation REQUIRED that there be no established religion... or there would have BEEN NO NATION as you would not have gotten the minority denominations to agree to become episcopalians. They agreed to set aside their religious disagreements, not deny them, to form the new nation. They agreed they all believed in God... which might be called a generic "Deism."

The claim that "The Founding Fathers" were Deists is plainly untrue when it is used to imply that they were not Christians. It is, however, true when it is understood that all Christian denominations are a subset of deism, the belief in God.

"The claim that "The Founding Fathers" were Deists is plainly untrue when it is used to imply that they were not Christians. It is, however, true when it is understood that all Christian denominations are a subset of deism, the belief in God."

I should have been more plain when I quoted a belief in a God and Natural Law. This is not to say they were not believers.

Points to ponder: Who brought the Masonic belief to America, and where was the first lodge? What does this have to do with the founding fathers? Where did these perpetual conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati and other organizations devoted to looking over the less informed masses come from?

If nothing else, out founding fathers were intellectual; and in that they were a lot more open to pragmatic exploration of religious beliefs than the common man. They also were frugal with the right to vote.

There is a lot in history that is lost after first hand accounts fall prey to attrition.

The denominational affiliations of these men were a matter of public record. Among the {55] delegates {to the Constitutional Convention} were 28 Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unknown, and only 3 deists--Williamson, Wilson, and Franklin--this at a time when church membership entailed a sworn public confession of biblical faith.

Swordmaker. Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to collect this info for some time but can't seem to get a complete handle on it (most likely due to my poor researching techniques). Do you have a link to the above, and hopefully showing a break down of names along with the denominations?

Thanks again for the post -- at least it's more than I already had.