Founding Fathers and their Views on Religious Liberty

Running head: FOUNDING FATHERS AND THEIR VIEWS ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Founding fathers and their views on religious liberty
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1FOUNDING FATHERS AND THEIR VIEWS ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
The Founding Fathers’ opinion on religious liberty
Religious liberty, or freedom of religion, forms the pillar of American history – the
very foundation on which the Founding Fathers founded the Constitution1. Right to freedom
of religion is central to the democracy of the United States; that is precisely why the First
Amendment was included as part of the Constitution2. The Founding Fathers, which included
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and others, were strong proponents
of religious liberty – the only weapon to combat the oppression and religious conflict that
America had seen in the bygone era.
Recognizing religion to be a unique entity on its own, the Founding Fathers took
adequate measures to separate religion from all other institutions; the Church was expected to
function independently of the government, so as to eradicate bias and prejudice3. To
propagate freedom of religion amongst the citizens, regulations and policies were imposed to
ensure that the integrity of all faiths was maintained. James Madison, one of the Founding
Fathers, once insisted on the importance of freeing the Church from the autonomy of the
government. He opined that the purpose of the First Amendment was to ensure that diverse
religions could flourish in America without fear of discrimination or oppression. America
was to be established as a democratic nation; it was thus necessary to draw an all
encompassing law on religious liberty4. The Founding Fathers demonstrated deep religious
values in writing the Constitution. They openly referred to Biblical passages and relied
heavily on the Ten Commandments.
1 Konvitz, Milton. Fundamental liberties of a free people: religion, speech, press, assembly. Routledge, 2018.
2 Barton, David. Original intent: The courts, the constitution, and religion. BookBaby, 2013.
3 Hemeyer, Julia Corbett, Michael Corbett, and J. Matthew Wilson. Politics and religion in the United States.
Routledge, 2014.
4 Fraser, James W. Between church and state: Religion and public education in a multicultural America. JHU
Press, 2016.

2FOUNDING FATHERS AND THEIR VIEWS ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
As a matter of fact, the Founding Fathers associated the concept of civil liberty with
religious freedom as well5. According to them, religious freedom could not be ascertained
without civil protection. However, religious and civil liberty, to the layman, was somewhat
ubiquitous, which have led to the birth of several misconceptions and myths. Yet, one
common belief prevailed – that loss of civil liberty would lead to loss of religious liberty as
well. Consequently, the First Amendment did not just grant the citizens the right to freedom
of religion, but also civil liberties essential for maintaining the former.
Interpretation of the Founding Fathers’ views on religion and religious liberty
For long, it was assumed that the United States had been established as a Christian
nation6. However, the First Amendment does not refer to God, Jesus or even Christianity for
that matter. To understand the Founding Fathers’ stance on religion and religious liberty, it is
important to study their own personal beliefs as well. These were mighty leaders, who stood
up for freedom of expression and every individual’s right to practice the religion of his
choice. If they made a choice to leave out the above mentioned references, it was not without
reason. History books and folk tales state that America was an exclusively Christian nation,
but there is no actual historical evidence to support the claim. In addition, the Founding
Fathers’ views were refuted on the basis that they did not explicitly state that the government
and church were to function as distinct entities. However, it must be understood that America
was never meant to be a nation standing on the foundations of one particular faith or
religion7.
A study of available documents from the period, including the speeches and
statements made by the succeeding presidents show that the government of the United States
5 Laycock, Douglas. "Religious liberty and the culture wars." (U. Ill. L. Rev. 2014), 839.
6 Green, Steven K. Inventing a Christian America: The myth of the religious founding. Oxford University Press,
2015.
7 Mack, Burton L. Myth and the Christian nation: A social theory of religion. Routledge, 2014.