Founders and Framers were not Christians

Historian Robert Middlekauff, observed, "the idea that the Constitution expressed a moral view seems absurd. There were no genuine evangelicals in the Convention, and there were no heated declarations of Christian piety." Many of the founder fathers (Why no founding women?) were not Christians…Deism was the dominant religion of the 18th century. Deism believes in a watchmaker that wound up the universe. Voltaire wrote “God is no more moral than God is blue or square.” Deists regard their faith as a natural religion, as contrasted with one that is revealed by a God or which is artificially created by humans. Deists reason that since everything that exists has had a creator, and then the universe itself must have been created by the natural laws of God. Thomas Paine concluded a speech shortly after the French Revolution with: "God is the power of first cause, nature is the law, and matter is the subject acted upon.” Ironically, Deists detested atheism. John Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Washington, Payne, and many other founders were all Deists not Christians. They didn’t believe in a personal God; they believed in the laws of nature and reason. All were highly critical of organized religion. Jefferson’s latest biography even argues he was an atheist.

As proof here is an excerpt from a document called the Treaty of Tripoli from the end of Washington’s last term as President. The document was unanimously approved by the Senate: "As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." (Mehomitan means Muslim. The Treaty was with Libya. Amazing how much as changed over the last two hundred plus years.) Lastly, there were no protests by anyone over the USA was not founded on the Christian religion.

Nowhere in the Constitution is there a single mention of Christianity, God, Jesus, or any Supreme Being, and there are only two references to religion. Lastly, the God in the Declaration of Independence does not describe Christianity's God, but the Deist’s God of natural law and reason. Any attempt to use the Declaration as a support for Christianity is tenuous at best.
Thomas Paine wrote the following: “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek Church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my church. " and "Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is no more derogatory to the Almighty, more unedifiying to man, more repugnant to reason, and more contradictory to itself than this thing called Christianity. “

John Adams flatly denied the doctrine of eternal damnation. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, he wrote: "I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved -- the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!"

Ben Franklin wrote: "Some books against Deism fell into my hands. . . It happened that they wrought an effect on my quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a Deist."

Madison wrote that “During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."
Jefferson in many of his letters denounced the superstitions of Christianity. He did not believe in spiritual souls, angels or godly miracles. Although Jefferson did admire the morality of Jesus, Jefferson did not think him divine, nor did he believe in the Trinity or the miracles of Jesus. In a letter to Peter Carr, 10 August 1787, he wrote, "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." Jefferson believed in materialism, reason, and science. He never admitted to any religion but his own. In a letter to Ezra Stiles Ely, 25 June 1819, he wrote, "You say you are a Calvinist. I am not. I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know."

There is a myth that the founders and framers of our nation were Christians, Evangelical Christians, or Christians of any kind. Deism was the dominant religion in the 18th century not Christianity. The writings of many of the founders reveal they were Deists, not Christians, and they were extremely critical of Christianity. Thanks for letting me rant.