No, not quite. There are plenty of speech transcripts and manuscripts from the Founding Fathers to show that the driving principle behind their fight for Liberty and establishment of the nation was their faith. That quote, attributed to Patrick Henry, is misattributed though.
John Adams (to Abigail July 4, 1776)And, the Government allowed for the Free Practice of Religion in the early days of the Republic... even in Government buildings. Below is an excerpt from the Diary of John Quincy Adams describing a church service held in the Supreme Court Chamber.
"The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.” “...[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
(October 11, 1798)
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
(letter to Thomas Jefferson)
The last two paragraphs read: "...The Parson and the Pedagogue lived much together, but were eternally disputing about government and religion. One day, when the Schoolmaster had been more that commonly fanatical and declared if he were a Monarch, He would have but one Religion in his Dominion. The Parson cooly replied 'Cleverly! You would be the best man in the world, if you had no religion.'
Twenty times, in the course of my late reading, have I been upon the point of breaking out, 'This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!!!' But in this exclamatic I should have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company, I mean Hell..."
Adam's Fast Day Declaration:
Ben Franklin
(Speech to Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787)
"God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel..."
"...In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?”
original transcript, below:
Also, when Franklin helped to found Ben Franklin University, it was dedicated - at his insistence - as "a nursery of religion and learning, built on Christ, the Cornerstone."
Charles Carroll (letter to James McHenry on November 4, 1800)
"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure...are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
John Hancock: (A Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, with a total abstinence from labor and recreation. Proclamation on April 15, 1775[Massachusettes])
"In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations."
(Proclaimation of the Massachusettes Legislature to the Continental Congress)
John Jay(As President of the Continental Congress: Proclamation call for a Day of Fasting Humiliation and Prayer, to the Congress, March 20, 1779)
Also, a description of a four hour communion service held in the Treasury Building, from the Journal of Manessah Cutler:
it reads: "Attended worship at the Treasury. Mr. Laurie alone. Sacrament. Full assembly. Three tables; service very solemn; nearly four hours." (Mr. Laurie was Presbyterian minister, the Reverend James Laurie)
There is ample evidence that the Founding Fathers turned to the Christian Faith as the defining principles on which the country was founded and even considered the country to be a Christian nation. The Patrick Henry "quote" though just isn't really a quote, that's all.