The Founding Fathers of America were Deists, very unlike the so-called Christians of today whose Christ seems so "alien" to other Christians.
TOM PAINE AND THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA
Today there is much debate over the religious beliefs of our nation's founding fathers. Debate also rages over meaning of the religion clauses of the United States Constitution and the interpretation of Thomas Jefferson's phrase "a wall of separation between church and state" in his letter to the Danbury Baptists. What is not up for debate, however. is the profound influence Thomas Paine had on the founding fathers and founding doctrines of the United States. A simple search at the Library of Congress brings up a wealth of personal correspondence between Paine and Jefferson, Washington and others. In his immensely successful pamphlet "Common Sense," published in 1776, Paine argued in print that colonies had outgrown any need for English domination and should be given independence. This and Paine's subsequent essays called "The Crisis" are seminal documents of the American Revolution.
Raised a Quaker in England, Paine was well used to conflicts with the religions and political powers of the day. His thinking on the matter of religion and politics evolved further during a return to England when he wrote THE RIGHTS OF MAN, defending the French Revolution, and later THE AGE OF REASON, both of which earned him the enmity of the British government. His notion that there are certain "natural rights" common to all men was greatly influenced by and in turn influenced the Enlightenment philosophy known as "deism." Deists held that nature itself sufficiently demonstrated the existence of God, making formal, established religion unnecessary. Deists also scorned claims of supernatural revelation. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington were all greatly influenced by deism.
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. But, lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them. — Thomas Paine, THE AGE OF REASON
The Writings of Tom Paine
Thomas Paine National Historical Association
A HISTORY OF US: "To Begin Again"
NOW: History of the Separation of Church and State
http://www.pbs.org/now/society/freethinkers.html |
