User:JimWae/GW



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George Washington's religious views are a matter of some controversy. There is considerable evidence that indicates he, like numerous intellectuals of his time, was a Deist&mdash;believing in God but not believing in revelation or miracles.

In his letters to young people, particularly to his adopted children, he urges upon them truth, character, honesty, but in no case does he advise going to church, reading the Bible, belief in Christ, or any other item of religious faith or practice.

What does his refusal to ever take communion mean? Well, for one, it means that though he paid for his family's pew, he was never a full member of his church - it means that it is not so very clear (as some think) that he was a Christian. If he had taken communion (as many have assumed & some think it contradictory to say otherwise), it would be some evidence of his being Xn. As for the speculation about high church, low church - it seems every church he attended celebrated communion at times. Is there evidence he ever sought out a church that did not celebrate communion? Were there any such churches then? Have there ever been any such churches which called themselves Xn yet never celebrate communion? (Quakers?) Further, GW was never seen to pray & never spoke of Jesus as being divine - and carefully avoided answering directly when his opinion on the divinity of Jesus was requested. As far as his style went, when he became president, one criticism levelled against him was that he adopted too many formal rituals which were reminiscent of royalty - a style certainly more like that of a high church than low church (which issue is all unsubstantiated speculation anyway)

The particular religious affiliations of U.S. Presidents can affect their electability, shape their visions of society and how they want to lead it, and shape their stances on policy matters.

Throughout much of American history, the religion of past American presidents has been the subject of contentious debate. Some devout Americans have been disinclined to believe that there may have been agnostic or even non-Christian presidents, especially amongst the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a result, apocryphal stories of a religious nature have appeared over the years about particularly beloved presidents such as Washington and Lincoln. On the other hand, secular-minded Americans have sometimes downplayed the prominence that religion played in the private and political lives of the Founding Fathers.

The Episcopal Church was the state religion in some states (such as Virginia) before their Constitutions were changed. Before the American Revolution, the Episcopal Church was the American branch of the Church of England. The first seven presidents with Episcopalian affiliation were also the first seven from Virginia, and five of those were among the six presidents most closely identified with Deism. Since there have seldom been any churches of Deism, strictly speaking Deist is not an affiliation in the same way Episcopalian is; it is included in the list below, however, to give a more complete view of the religious views of the presidents.

Many people are interested not only in the religious affiliations of the presidents, but also in their inner beliefs.

Though Washington often spoke of God and Providence, there is little if any reliable source material for quotes by him containing the words Jesus or Christianity.

In general, it is difficult to define with any certainty the faiths of presidents, because no one can truly be sure what relationship (if any) exists between another person and his deity, and because presidents, as public officials, have generally tried to remain outwardly within the mainstream of American religious trends.

With regard to Christianity, distinguishing affiliation from belief can be somewhat complicated. At issue, to a certain extent, is "What counts as belonging to a church?" Must one be a communicant to belong, or is baptism or even simple attendance sufficient? Are Unitarians and independents who generally hold Jesus in high regard, but do not believe that he is or was divine, to be counted as Christians or not?

Numerous presidents changed their affiliations and/or their beliefs during their lives. George Washington, for example, gravitated from conventional Christianity (perhaps) as a youth towards deism as he aged.

Baptism
The Washington family Bible, preserved at Mount Vernon, has the following entered within its covers (all written in the same hand with the latest date being in 1797):
 * George Washington, son to Augustine & Mary his Wife, was Born ye 11th Day of February 1731/2 about 10 in the morning, & was Baptis'd the 5th of April following Mr Beverley Whiting & Capt. Christopher Brookes Godfathers and Mrs. Mildred Gregory Godmother

Daniel Gano (a nephew of Rev. John Gano) said that, when he was seven years old, he witnessed a Baptism of Gen George Washington. He, (Daniel Cano), later moved to Kentucky, and lived there to past ninety years of age, and often related the circumstances of this baptism to his neighbors and friends. September 1908, at dedication of organ First Baptist Church, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Pastor M. V. McDuffie, gave this instance: "During the Revolutionary War, George Washington approached John Gano, a Baptist minister and said : 'I have been investigating the Scriptures and I believe immersion to be the baptism taught by the Word of God, and I demand it, at your hands. I do not wish any parade or the army called out.' Chaplain Gano took George Washington into the Potomac river and immersed him in the presence of forty-two witnesses." http://www.cragun.com/brian/hearne/history/hh771m.html

While there are historians who doubt the account, because there is no written record in Washington’s papers and the chief source was a boy of only 7, who still gives an extraordinarily detailed account for a 7 year old boy. Though, it is obvious that Washington did not want to make a public display of it, that would not prevent his mentioning it to someone or writing about it in his journal. Time magazine, September 5, 1932, on the bicentenary of the birthday of George Washington, carried an article giving the account of the General being baptized by immersion by Gano.

Another account tells of Rev. John Gano having baptized General Washington in the field by immersion, as “Gen. Washington had become dissatisfied with the baptism which had been administered by his own church” (the established Church of England). The baptism of General Washington was performed in the presence of about forty people, according to the same account. “Very little was said about this, as the Rev. Mr. Gano transgressed the rule of his church by baptizing anyone who was outside the pale of his own denomination, but felt that he could not draw church lines too close to the Army, and so all were baptized by immersion who desired.”

Rev. John Gano, Baptist preacher, is said to have cut the ice in the river, and baptized the commander-in-chief by immersion in the presence of 42 people, all sworn to secrecy! And this has been confirmed by a grandson of the Rev. Gano in an affidavit made at the age of 83 years! But the entire story is discredited by the fact that the Rev. Gano was not at Valley Forge, and that he served with Clinton's, and not with Washington's, army. For proof, see 'Biographical Memoirs of the Rev. John Gano,' also Headingly's 'Chaplains of the Revolution.'

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744297,00.html http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744421-3,00.html

http://logosresourcepages.org/IronPen/ironpen80.htm http://www.therestorationmovement.com/gano,john.htm http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3952924 http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20061216-113344-1328r.htm

Washington is not known to have ever professed himself a Baptist & when he did attend church services, mostly continued to go to Episcopal churches.

Communicant?
There is no record of his ever becoming a communicant in any Christian church and he would regularly leave services before communion&mdash;with the other non-communicants. When Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia mentioned in a weekly sermon that those in elevated stations set an unhappy example by leaving at communion, Washington ceased attending at all on communion Sundays.

Long after Washington died, when asked about Washington's beliefs, Abercrombie replied: "Sir, Washington was a Deist!"

Ministers at four of the churches Washington frequently attended have written that he never took communion.

Abercrombie's reproof was during GW's presidency in Philadelphia. Apparently there was at the time already some frowning about those who never communed. GW himself is reported to have said he had not considered the "With respect to the inquiry you make, I can only state the following facts: that as pastor of the Episcopal Church, observing that, on sacramental Sundays George Washington, immediately after the desk and pulpit services, went out with the greater part of the congregation -- always leaving Mrs. Washington with the other communicants -- she invariably being one -- I considered it my duty, in a sermon on public worship, to state the unhappy tendency of example, particularly of those in elevated stations, who uniformly-turned their backs on the Lord's Supper. I acknowledge the remark was intended for the President; and as such he received it. A few days after, in conversation, I believe, with a Senator of the United States, he told me he had dined the day before with the President, who, in the course of conversation at the table, said that, on the previous Sunday, he had received a very just rebuke from the pulpit for always leaving the church before the administration of the sacrament; that he honored the preacher for his integrity and candor; that he had never sufficiently considered the influence of his example, and that he would not again give cause for the repetition of the reproof; and that, as he had never been a communicant, were he to become one then, it would be imputed to an ostentatious display of religious zeal, arising altogether from his elevated station. Accordingly, he never afterwards came an the morning of sacrament Sunday, though at other times he was a constant attendant in the morning."

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/ed_buckner/quotations.html#II

As reported by others
Extract from a letter of the Rev. Dr. Berrian, of New York, to Mrs. Jane Washington, of Mount Vernon, in answer to some inquiries about General Washington during his residence in New York as President of the United States:--

"About a fortnight since I was administering the Communion to a sick daughter of Major Popham, and, after the service was over, happening to speak on this subject, I was greatly rejoiced to obtain the information which you so earnestly desired.

"Major Popham served under General Washington during the Revolutionary War, and I believe he was brought as near to him as their difference of rank would admit, being himself a man of great respectability, and connected by marriage with the Morrises, one of the first families in the country. He has still an erect and military air, and a body but little broken at his advanced age. His memory does not seem to be impaired nor his mind to be enfeebled."

To the above I can add my own testimony, having in different ways become acquainted with the character of Major Popham, and having visited him about the same time mentioned by Dr. Berrian.

Extract from Major Popham's Letter to Mrs. Jane Washington.

New York, March 14, 1839.

My dear Madam:--You will doubtless be not a little surprised at receiving a letter from an individual whose name may possibly never have reached you; but an accidental circumstance has given me the extreme pleasure of introducing myself to your notice. In a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Berrian a few days since, he informed me that he had lately paid a visit to Mount Vernon, and that Mrs. Washington had expressed a wish to have a doubt removed from her mind, which had long oppressed her, as to the certainty of the General's having attended the Communion while residing in the city of New York subsequent to the Revolution. As nearly all the remnants of those days are now sleeping with their fathers, it is not very probable that at this late day an individual can be found who could satisfy this pious wish of your virtuous heart, except the writer. It was my great good fortune to have attended St. Paul's Church in this city with the General during the whole period of his residence in New York as President of the United States. The pew of Chief-Justice Morris was situated next to that of the President, close to whom I constantly sat in Judge Morris's pew, and I am as confident as a memory now labouring under the pressure of fourscore years and seven can make me, that the President hadmore than once--I believe I may say often--attended at the sacramental table, at which I had the privilege and happiness to kneel with him. And I am aided in my associations by my elder daughter, who distinctly recollects her grandmamma--Mrs. Morris--often mention that fact with great pleasure. Indeed, I am further confirmed in my assurance by the perfect recollection of the President's uniform deportment during divine service in church. The steady seriousness of his manner, the solemn, audible, but subdued tone of voice in which he read and repeated the responses, the Christian humility which overspread and adorned the native dignity of the saviour of his country, at once exhibited him a pattern to all who had the honour of access to him. It was my good fortune, my dear madam, to have had frequent intercourse with him. It is my pride and boast to have seen him in various situations,--in the flush of victory, in the field and in the tent,--in the church and at the altar, always himself, ever the same.

Letter from General Lewis, of Augusta county, Virginia, to the Rev. Mr. Dana, of Alexandria.

Lewistown, December 14, 1855.

Reverend and Dear Sir:--When (some weeks ago) I had the pleasure of seeing you in Alexandria, and in our conversation the subject of the religious opinions and character of General Washington was spoken of, I repeated to you the substance of what I had heard from the late General Robert Porterfield, of Augusta, and which at your request I promised to reduce to writing at some leisure moment and send to you. I proceed now to redeem the promise. Some short time before the death of General Porterfield, I made him a visit and spent a night at his house. He related many interesting facts that had occurred within his own observation in the war of the Revolution, particularly in the Jersey campaign and the encampment of the army at Valley Forge. He said that his official duty (being brigade-inspector) frequently brought him in contact with General Washington. Upon one occasion, some emergency (which he mentioned) induced him to dispense with the usual formality, and he went directly to General Washington's apartment, where he found him on his knees, engaged in his morning's devotions. He said that he mentioned the circumstance to General Hamilton, who replied that such was his constant habit. I remarked that I had lately heard Mr. --- say, on the authority of Mr. ---, that General Washington was subject to violent fits of passion, and that he then swore terribly. General Porterfield said the charge was false; that he had known General Washington personally for many years, had frequently been in his presence under very exciting circumstances, and had never heard him swear an oath, or in any way to profane the name of God. "Tell Mr. --- from me," said he, "that he had much better be reading his Bible than repeating such slanders on the character of General Washington. General Washington," said he, "was a pious man, and a member of your Church, [the Episcopal.] I saw him myself on his knees receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in --- Church, in Philadelphia." He specified the time and place. My impression is that Christ Church was the place, and Bishop White, as he afterward was, the minister. This is, to the best of my recollection, an accurate statement of what I heard from General Porterfield on the subject.

I am, sir, with great respect, very truly yours,

S. H. Lewis

Confirmation?
Bishop James Madison—second cousin of President Madison, and perhaps the only Trinitarian cleric trusted by Jefferson—from their years together at William and Mary. But when Madison became first Episcopal bishop of Virginia in 1790 and Episcopalians could participate in the rite of confirmation for the first time, Monroe did not seek to be confirmed.

Until confirmed, one was not supposed to take communion. However, communin was regularly offered & people took it anyway. Abercrombie's sermon (year?) indicates he expected GW to take communion

Attendance/Membership in churches
As a young man before the Revolution, when the Church of England was still the state religion in Virginia, he served as a vestryman (lay officer) for his local church. He sometimes accompanied his wife Martha Washington to Christian church services.

FreeMasonry
A Mason is oblig’d, by his Tenure, to obey the moral Law; and if he rightly understands the Art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious Libertine. But though in ancient Times Masons were charg’d in every Country to be of the Religion of that Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet ‘tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to the Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves; that is, to be good Men and true, or Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or Persuasions they may be distinguished. ..

Farewell address
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men & citizens. The mere Politican, equally with the pious man ought to respect & to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private & public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the Oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure--reason & experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

'Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of Free Government. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric. Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

Washington & prayer
He spoke often of the value of prayer, righteousness, and seeking and offering thanks for the "blessings of Heaven".

Various prayers said to have been composed by him in his later life are highly edited. An unfinished book of copied Christian prayers attributed to him (as a youth) by a collector was rejected by the Smithsonian Institution for lack of authenticity, though some Christian groups continue to cite them as proof of Washington's being a believer in the divinity of Jesus.

Religious pluralism
He spoke often of the value of religion in general,

Washington was an early supporter of religious pluralism. In 1775, he ordered that his troops should not burn the pope in effigy on Guy Fawkes Night. Later in 1790, he published a letter written to Jewish leaders in which he envisioned a country "which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance . . . May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."

God
In the book Washington and Religion by Paul F. Boller, Jr., we read on page 92, "Washington was no infidel, if by infidel is meant unbeliever. Washington had an unquestioning faith in Providence and, as we have seen, he voiced this faith publicly on numerous occasions. That this was no mere rhetorical flourish on his part, designed for public consumption, is apparent from his constant allusions to Providence in his personal letters. There is every reason to believe, from a careful analysis of religious references in his private correspondence, that Washington’s reliance upon a Grand Designer along Deist lines was as deep-seated and meaningful for his life as, say, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s serene confidence in a Universal Spirit permeating the ever shifting appearances of the everyday world."

Death & afterlife
He did not ask for any clergy on his deathbed, though one was available. His funeral services were those of the Freemasons.

According to ministers
In the book Washington and Religion by Paul F. Boller, Jr., we read on page 82 a quote from a Presbyterian minister, Arthur B. Bradford, who was an associate of Ashbel Green another Presbyterian minister who had known George Washington personally. Bradford wrote that Green, "often said in my hearing, though very sorrowfully, of course, that while Washington was very deferential to religion and its ceremonies, like nearly all the founders of the Republic, he was not a Christian, but a Deist."

In February, 1800, a few weeks after. Washington's death, Jefferson made the following entry in his journal:

"Dr. Rush told me (he had it from Asa Green) that when the clergy addressed General Washington, on his departure from the government, it was observed in their consultation that he had never, on any occasion, said a word to the public which showed a belief in the Christian religion, and they thought they should so pen their address as to force him at length to disclose publicly whether he was a Christian or not. However, he observed, the old fox was too cunning for them. He answered every article of their address particularly, except that, which he passed over without notice" (Jefferson's Works, Vol. iv., p. 572).

Jefferson further says: "I know that Gouverneur Morris, who claimed to be in his secrets, and believed himself to be so, has often told me that General Washington believed no more in that system [Christianity] than he did" (Ibid).

Gouverneur Morris was the principal drafter of the Constitution of the United States; he was a member of the Continental Congress, a United States senator from New York, and minister to France. He accepted, to a considerable extent, the skeptical views of French Freethinkers.

The "Asa" Green mentioned by Jefferson was undoubtedly the Rev. Ashbel Green, chaplain to Congress during Washington's administration. In an article on Washington's religion, contributed to the Chicago Tribune, B.F. Underwood says:

"If there were an Asa Green in Washington's time he was a man of no prominence, and it is probable the person referred to by Jefferson was the Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, who served as chaplain to the Congress during the eight years that body sat in Philadelphia, was afterwards president of Princeton College, and the only clerical member of Congress that signed the Declaration of Independence. His name shines illustriously in the annals of the Presbyterian church in the United States."

Some years ago I received a letter from Hon. A.B. Bradford of Pennsylvania, relative to Washington's belief. Mr. Bradford was for a long time a prominent clergyman in the Presbyterian church, and was appointed a consul to China by President Lincoln. His statements help to corroborate the statements of Dr. Wilson, Thomas Jefferson, and Mr. Underwood. He says:

"I knew Dr. Wilson personally, and have entertained him at my house, on which occasion he said in my hearing what my relative, the Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green of Philadelphia, frequently told me in his study, viz., that during the time that Congress sat in that city the clergy, suspecting from good evidence that Washington was not a believer in the Bible as a revelation from heaven, laid a plan to extort from him a confession, either pro or con, but that the plan failed. Dr. Green was chaplain to Congress during all the time of its sitting in Philadelphia; dined with the President on special invitation nearly every week; was well acquainted with him, and after he had been dead and gone many years, often said in my hearing, though very sorrowfully, of course, that while Washington was very deferential to religion and its ceremonies, like nearly all the founders of the Republic, he was not a Christian, but a Deist."

Mr. Underwood's article contained the following from the pen of Mr. Bradford:

"It was during his [Dr. Green's] long residence in Philadelphia that I became intimately acquainted with him as a relative, student of theology at Princeton, and a member of the same Presbytery to which he belonged. Many an hour during my student and clergyman days did I spend with him in his study at No. 150 Pine street, Philadelphia, listening to his interesting and instructive conversation on Revolutionary times and incidents. I recollect well that during one of these interviews in his study I inquired of him what were the real opinions Washington entertained on the subject of religion. He promptly answered pretty nearly in the language which Jefferson says Dr. Rush used. He explained more at length the plan laid by the clergy of Philadelphia at the close of Washington's administration as President to get his views of religion for the sake of the good influence they supposed they would have in counteracting the Infidelity of Paine and the rest of the Revolutionary patriots, military and civil. But I well remember the smile on his face and the twinkle of his black eye when he said: 'The old fox was too cunning for Us.' He affirmed, in concluding his narrative, that from his long and intimate acquaintance with Washington he knew it to be the case that while he respectfully conformed to the religious customs of society by generally going to church on Sundays, he had no belief at all in the divine origin of the Bible, or the Jewish-Christian religion."

According to his relatives
However, his adopted daughter, Nelly Custis-Lewis, in response to a request for evidence that Washington was a Christian, wrote, "I should have thought it the greatest heresy to doubt his firm belief in Christianity. His life, his writings, prove that he was a Christian. He was not one of those who act or pray, that they may be seen of men."

According to scholars
According to biographer James Thomas Flexner, "George Washington was, like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, a deist." On the other hand, biographer John Ferling writes that Washington "was not a Deist, however. He believed in God's intervention in worldly affairs, and he anticipated a life after death." According to biographer Marcus Cunliffe, Washington "was a Christian as a Virginian planter understood the term."

more essential books on Washington's beliefs:
 * Frank Grizzard's The Ways of Providence: Religion and George Washington
 * Paul Boller's George Washington & Religion.

One can differentiate a Founding Father influenced by Deism from an orthodox Christian believer by following certain criteria. Anyone seeking the answer should consider at least the following four points. First, an inquirer should examine the Founder's church involvement...

The second consideration is an evaluation of the participation of a Founder in the ordinances or sacraments of his church...George Washington's refusal to receive communion in his adult life indicated Deistic belief to many of his pastors and peers

Third, one should note the religious language a Founder used. Non-Christian Deists such as Paine refused to use Judeo-Christian terminology and described God with such expressions as “Providence,” “the Creator,” “the Ruler of Great Events,” and “Nature's God.” Founders who fall into the category of Christian Deists used Deistic terms for God but sometimes added a Christian dimension—such as “Merciful Providence” or “Divine Goodness.” Yet these Founders did not move further into orthodoxy and employ the traditional language of Christian piety. Founders who remained unaffected by Deism or who (like John Adams) became conservative Unitarians used terms that clearly conveyed their orthodoxy (“Savior,” “Redeemer,” “Resurrected Christ”).

Finally, one should consider what friends, family, and, above all, clergy said about a Founder's religious faith. That Washington's pastors in Philadelphia clearly viewed him as significantly influenced by Deism says more about Washington's faith than do the opposite views of later writers or the cloudy memories of a few Revolutionary veterans who avowed Washington's orthodoxy decades after his death.

Although no examination of history can capture the inner faith of any person, these four indicators can help locate the Founders on the religious spectrum. Ethan Allen, for example, appears clearly to have been a non-Christian Deist. James Monroe, a close friend of Paine, remained officially an Episcopalian but may have stood closer to non-Christian Deism than to Christian Deism. Founders who fall into the category of Christian Deists include Washington (whose dedication to Christianity was clear in his own mind), John Adams, and, with some qualifications, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was more influenced by the reason-centred Enlightenment than either Adams or Washington