<html>
Greetings:<br><br>
Is Pat Kraut implying, in her most recent post, that George Washington
would have approved of the Christian Reconstructionist program? Not
by a light year! <br><br>
One of Wilson's guests for the Trinity Festival in August appears to have
this mind, but he is one of those Wilsonian scholars who don't care for
the facts. Here is the section on Washington from my essay
"Religious Liberalism and the Founding Fathers" at
<a href="http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/305/foundfathers.htm" eudora="autourl">www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/305/foundfathers.htm</a>.
You can check the link for the references.<br><br>
GEORGE WASHINGTON (1732-1799)<br><br>
More myths have been created about our first president
than about any other American. Mason Locke Weems, an Anglican minister,
was the inventor of the notorious cherry tree story and many of the tales
pertaining to Washington's religiosity. Professor Paul Boller of the
University of Massachusetts has laid to rest all of these fabrications in
his excellent book, <i>George Washington and Religion</i>. I am indebted
to his thorough research for some of the major points of this
section.<br><br>
Washington was not an intellectual but a man of
action. He was not naturally given to deep reflection or detailed
analysis of thought or belief. While Adams and Jefferson spent their last
years reading philosophy and theology, and frequently writing to each
other about it, Washington retired to the country and occupied himself
with strictly non-intellectual pursuits. It was James Madison's opinion
that Washington never "attended to the arguments for Christianity,
and for the different systems of religion, [n]or in fact ... [had he]
formed definite opinions on the subject."(24)<br><br>
There is virtually no evidence in Washington's
writings to indicate a firm commitment to the Christian religion. He
always I has something positive to say about religion in general. But
there are a few remarks in his private correspondence and diaries, which
have a touch of cynicism. He once wrote in his diary that he would have
liked to have collected his rents on Sundays, but he declined because the
people living on his land were "apparently very religious."(25)
Writing to Lafayette with regard to religious toleration, he states:
"Being no bigot myself, I am disposed to indulge the professors of
Christianity in the church with that road to Heaven, which to them shall
seem the most direct, plainest, easiest, and least liable to
exception."(26)<br><br>
It seems that the only deep interest Washington had in
the direction of religion was an enthusiasm for freemasonry. He was a
nominal Episcopalian who attended church irregularly (ceasing after his
retirement) and who never participated in Communion. While president he
was once openly criticized from the pulpit by his pastor, James
Abercrombie, for setting a poor example by not celebrating the Lord's
Supper.(27) Although Washington never refers to any specific readings in
philosophy or theology, his religious liberalism is clearly apparent in
numerous references made to the deity in his writings and speeches. In
all of his voluminous writing only once does he speak of Jesus Christ and
this single incident, a speech to the Delaware Indians, was most likely
penned by an aide more orthodox than Washington. On the manuscript of
another speech to Indian leaders, we can clearly see the word God crossed
out and the phrase "the Great Spirit above" in Washington's
handwriting.(28)<br><br>
Washington never refers to a personal God, the most
frequent appellation being "Providence," one of the most
impersonal terms for the divine. The doctrine of general providence,
outlined in the introduction, is clearly implied in many of the passages
interpreting historical events as divinely ordained. It is always the
patriots in general, not specific individuals, who are guided by God's
providence. There is a certain amount of fatalism also embodied in much
of this writing on God's actions in the world. A God that gave specific
responses to all human petitioners would not be the God of reason or the
creator of nature's inexorable laws. The general plan is somehow set and
it would be irrational for God to change it. This view does not appear to
change throughout Washington's life. In 1776 he stated: "I will not
lament or repine at any acts of Providence, because I am in great measure
a convert to Mr. Pope's opinion that whatever is, is right. . .
."(29); and in 1797 he still agreed: "But [it] is not for man
to scan the wisdom of providence. The best he can do is to submit to its
decrees. Reason, Religion, and Philosophy teaches us to do this. . . .
"(30) Dr. Benjamin Rush, medical scientist and friend of Franklin,
reported to Thomas Jefferson that upon leaving office Washington met with
a group of clergy who submitted a number of questions for Washington to
answer. Since he had never made any public affirmation of Christianity,
one of their questions was whether or not he was a Christian. Washington
very kindly answered all of the questions except that crucial
one.(31)<br><br>
The tolerance that Washington showed for all Christian
denominations was another sign of his religious liberalism. There is the
famous incident when Washington prevented his soldiers from burning the
pope in effigy on Guy Fawkes Day. When once looking for new servants,
Washington emphasized that any good workmen would be acceptable, be they
"Mohametans, Jews, Christians of any sect, or. . .
atheists."(32)<br><br>
Washington firmly believed in the separation of church
and state. Probably the most striking and controversial expression of
this principle, in which Washington played a part, appears in the Treaty
of Tripoli. Article Eleven of this treaty begins: "As the government
of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian
religion. . . ." (33) Later on, in times of religious emotionalism,
this article raised many eyebrows among the orthodox. But in 1796, a time
of religious rationalism, President Washington approved it and the treaty
was ratified by the Senate in 1797 with no recorded debate, and signed by
President John Adams.(34)<br><br>
In a recent biography of
Washington Joseph J. Ellis describes the scene at Washington's death:
"There were no ministers in the room, no prayers uttered, no
Christian rituals offering the solace of everlasting life. . . . The
historical evidence suggests that Washington did not think much about
heaven or angels; the only place he knew his body was going was into the
ground, and as for his soul, its ultimate location was unknowable.
He died as a Roman Stoic rather than a Christian saint."
(34a)<br><br>
All in all, the evidence shows that George Washington
was a religious liberal who believed in God as impersonal Providence. He
probably did not believe in any of the doctrines of Christian orthodoxy.
As Paul Boller concludes, "If Washington was a Christian, he was
surely a Protestant of the most liberal per suasion."(35) In a
famous sermon delivered in 1831, Bird Wilson declared that Washington was
no more than a Unitarian.(36)<br><br>
During the early 1950's, definitely an era of
religious emotionalism, Congress passed without debate a bill authorizing
the construction of a "Capital Prayer Room." One of the
religious relics of this edifice is a stained-glass window portraying
George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge. Paul Boller has
shown conclusively that the prayer incident at Valley Forge is
"utterly without foundation in fact."(37) Furthermore, many
people witnessed the fact that Washington, in contrast to most American
worshippers of the time (including Martha Washington), did not kneel for
prayer in church.(38)<br><br>
Worthington C. Ford and Rupert
Hughes have conclusively proved that Washington's so-called "Prayer
Book" is a forgery. Washington's handwriting and spelling was
known to be atrocious, but this particular hand is elegant and spell
perfect. The prayers also have a very strong resemblance to the
Episcopalian Book of Prayer. As final proof of the hoax the
Smithsonian Institution rejected the book as genuine Washingtonian
memorabilia.<br><br>
It is clear from what we know of his character and
philosophy that this Congressional gesture, although made with the best
of intentions, would have been a great embarrassment to Washington. (The
cherry tree story was bad enough.) He was a very private person,
especially in matters of religion, and he would have been scandalized at
the prospect of a state-supported prayer room with his supplicating
figure as the main attraction. There is an observation by Washington's
adopted daughter which makes for a very appropriate conclusion: "He
was not one of those who act or pray 'that they may be seen of men.' He
communed with his God in secret."(39)<br><br>
Yours for liberal religion,<br><br>
Nick Gier</html>