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To: Rightwing Conspirator1
Or if you prefer they were largely landed middle class Burkean-style conservatives. Paleo-conservative and fundamentalist protestant in today's relative terms or paleo-fundies.

Check your history. Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams and most of the others were hardly "fundamentalist." They weren't anti-religion as many of the leaders of the French Revolution were but they weren't particularly religious either. Actually the only two Presidents of the 20th century that could be labeled Fundamentalist would be Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter. In the 19th century, perhaps Rutherford P. Hayes but I can't think of any other.

540 posted on 11/19/2001 7:06:38 PM PST by PJ-Comix
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To: PJ-Comix
Check your history. Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams and most of the others were hardly "fundamentalist."

The three I agree who were not religious (publically they were but privately were not) are Jefferson, Franklin and Paine. Washington was certainly quite devout and contrary to popular custom very private about it. Some have interpreted this to mean something else based on their agenda. I disagree with your take on Washington.

Presbyterians, Episcopalian, Methodists, Baptists, Quakers were well-represented. When I said fundamentalist I meant that those same denominations relative to today's respective denominations. Obviously I know that evangelism and the charismatics came much much later. I'm talking about the Biblical view. The first three have moved doctrinally considerably. I doubt one would recognize the differences of a Methodist sermon in 1776 from a fundamentalist sermon today.

They weren't anti-religion as many of the leaders of the French Revolution were but they weren't particularly religious either. Actually the only two Presidents of the 20th century that could be labeled Fundamentalist would be Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter.

Oh sure Carter was charismatic fundamentalist in the modern sense. I don't know much about Wilson. The founders were largely anti-Anglican and anti-Catholic for some obvious reasons, and not at all anti-religion. Though I believe there was 1 or 2 Catholic founders. Most all the States had Protestant religious requirements for elective office. Most all the states had sodomy, adultery, and pornography laws. Most all the states had laws respecting the Sabbath. Methinks we pay much to much attention to the Federal government our founders created which was far removed from the people, rather than those state and local governments that were closer and actually governed the people.

613 posted on 11/19/2001 7:54:01 PM PST by Rightwing Conspiratr1
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