The In My Opinion article, “Founders: Divergent views on religion”, by F&M Professor Michael S. Billig informs:
“It is entirely wrong to imagine that the diverse group of men we call the Founding Fathers were of one mind on the question of religion. Most (e.g., Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison) were ardent Enlightenment deists who believed in a Creator who made the universe then stepped back and allowed it to function according to predictable, knowable natural laws. They had great faith in human reason and science, and they believed that the Bible was an ancient text written by people to be read as parable.”
WATCHDOG: Two wags of the tail!
We might add George Washington to the above, although we won’t quibble with Billig’s description of Washington as “indifferent, though tolerant of religious practice and belief.”
It is unfortunate that our high schools and colleges teach United States History in a vacuum, as though European (and African) activities and thoughts did not have a profound impact. We advocate combining Modern European History and United States History as one course over two years of study rather than a year for each.
We should all determine our own beliefs, and they may even alter over the course of our lives. But let’s teach history as it actually occurred.
