[NoLibZone]

Who were the Catholic Founders ?

Where there many?

Or just Protestants?

[Christian_Capitalist]

I think that there were a few Catholics; but mainly it was Calvinists in general, and Presbyterians in particular.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

There was only one Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll. He had no part in drafting the document nor any of the debates; he just showed up to sign it.

He also refused to free his slaves when he died.

[Mila]

“Who were the Catholic Founders ?

Where there many?

Or just Protestants?”

I found this, it has a chart -

Religious Affiliation of the
Founding Fathers
of the United States of America

http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html

[Cronos]

Catholics among the Founding Fathers --> there were

1. Church of England/Episcopalian: 28
2. Presbyterian: 8
3. Congregationalists: 8
4. Lutherans: 2
5. Dutch Reformed: 2
6. Methodists: 2
7. Catholics: 3 (C. Caroll, D. Caroll & Fitzsimons)
8. Deists: 7 (including Thomas Jefferson

1. John Caroll had initially been a priest before devoting himself to the Revolution

2. Fr. Pierre Gibault who pledged the support of the region of S-W Indiana to the USA (to Col. George Rogers Clark)

3. John Barry, a native Irishman who captained a number of ships during the war. Barry was the first to capture a British war vessel on the high seas; he also was wounded in a sea batter yet captured two British ships and fought the last battle on the seas of the Revolutionary war. He was George Washington's choice for commander of the US navy -- he was issued Commission Number 1 by Washintong and was not only the first American commissioned naval officer but also it's first flag officer

4. the Catholic Philadelphia merchant Stephen Moylan became Quatermaster General of the Continental Army

5. Among the international Catholics who came to support the American Revolution you have
   • the Marquis de Lafayette, a Catholic Frenchman
   • the Polish captain Tadeusz Kosciuszko -- both were key in the Revolutionary War
   • Casimir Pułaski, a Pole who led Washington's cavalry and died in the battle for Savanna

6. John Caroll says this about Catholic participation in the Revolutionary war (remember the country was only 1.6% Catholic):"Their blood flowed as freely, in proportion to their numbers, to cement the fabric of independence as that of their fellow citizens. They concurred with perhaps greater unanimity than any other body of men in recommending and promoting from whose influence America anticipates all the blessings of justice, peace, plenty, good orders, and civil and religious liberty"

If Dr. Eck's post says "Charles Carroll had no part in drafting the document nor any of the debates; he just showed up to sign it.", then Of the Delegates who actually met to negotiate the Constitution history recognizes six as actual authors of the Constitution. Of these six none were Presbyterians such as Dr. Eck's grouping -- if one wants to somehow say that only those religious groups that had members who drafted the constitution are American...

Anyway the list of those who did draft the Constituion were:

1. John Adams - Unitarian
2. Benjamin Franklin - Deist
3. Thomas Jefferson - Deist
4. John Jay - Episcopalian
5. James Madison - Episcopalian
6. George Washington - Episcopalian
7. Alexander Hamilton - Episcopalian

If one takes Dr. Eck's post about not having a part in drafting the document and just signing it then hmm.... only unitarians, Deists and Episcopalians are true Americans according to that (false) statement.

[Cronos]

NLZ, as I gave in post 86, the numbers of Catholics who were founding fathers were in disproportionate number to their % in society (Catholics at the time of American Independence were just 1.6% of the colonies' population)

Out of the 60 you have 3 Catholics --> that's 5% of the signers were Catholics (as compared to 1.6% of the population).

ditto for the numbers of Catholics who served and/or died for Independence -- much higher than their % in society