|
Religious Affiliation of the Founding Fathers.
Note that they were all Christians. Not a single
jew among them!!! Nor did any of them believe "the law has been
done away with." If any of them had believed that, there would
never have been a Revolution. Obviously, the supposed
"antinomianism" of Paul is a recent invention by the Apostates of
Judeo-Christianity. - Eli
Ennumerating the Founding
Fathers
The three major foundational documents of the United States of America are the Declaration of Independence (July 1776), the Articles of
Confederation (drafted 1777, ratified 1781) and the Constitution of the United States of America (1789). There are a total of 143 signatures on these
documents, representing 118 different signers. (Some individuals
signed more than one document.)
There were 56 signers of the Declaration of
Independence. There were 48 signers of the Articles of
Confederation. All 55 delegates who participated in the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 are regarded as Founding Fathers, in
fact, they are often regarded as the Founding Fathers because it is
this group that actually debated, drafted and signed the U.S. Constitution,
which is the basis for the country's political and legal system. Only 39
delegates actually signed the document, however, meaning there were 16
non-signing delegates - individuals who were Constitutional Convention
delegates but were not signers of the Constitution.
There were 95 Senators and Representatives in the
First Federal Congress. If one combines the total number of signatures on
the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution with
the non-signing Constitutional Convention delegates, and then adds to that
sum the number of congressmen in the First Federal Congress, one obtains a
total of 238 "slots" or "positions" in these
groups which one can classify as "Founding Fathers" of the United
States. Because 40 individuals had multiple roles (they signed multiple
documents and/or also served in the First Federal Congress), there are 204
unique individuals in this group of "Founding Fathers." These
are the people who did one or more of the following:
- signed the Declaration of Independence
- signed the Articles of Confederation
- attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787
- signed the Constitution of the United States of America
- served as Senators in the First Federal Congress (1789-1791)
- served as U.S. Representatives in the First Federal Congress
The religious affiliations of these individuals are
summarized below. Obviously this is a very restrictive set of names, and
does not include everyone who could be considered an "American
Founding Father." But most of the major figures that people generally
think of in this context are included using these criteria, including
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams, John Hancock, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and more.
|
Religious
Affiliation
of U.S. Founding Fathers
|
# of
Founding
Fathers
|
% of
Founding
Fathers
|
|
Episcopalian/Anglican
|
88
|
54.7%
|
|
Presbyterian
|
30
|
18.6%
|
|
Congregationalist
|
27
|
16.8%
|
|
Quaker
|
7
|
4.3%
|
|
Dutch Reformed/German Reformed
|
6
|
3.7%
|
|
Lutheran
|
5
|
3.1%
|
|
Catholic
|
3
|
1.9%
|
|
Huguenot
|
3
|
1.9%
|
|
Unitarian
|
3
|
1.9%
|
|
Methodist
|
2
|
1.2%
|
|
Calvinist
|
1
|
0.6%
|
|
TOTAL
|
204
|
|
NOTES: The table above
counts people and not "roles," meaning that individuals
have not been counted multiple times if they appear on more than one
of the lists above. Roger Sherman, for example, signed all three
foundational documents and he was a Representative in the First
Federal Congress, but he has been counted only once.
In the table above, some people have been counted more than once because
they changed religious affiliation from one denomination to another. Thus,
the individual amounts added together total more than 100%. This method is
used because it results in accurate numbers for each individual religious
affiliation. For example, a total of 7 Quakers are shown in the table
above. There were indeed 7 Quakers who were in this group. (However, not
all of these were life-long Quakers.) For the most part, very few
Founding Fathers switched denomination during their lifetime (less than
8%), so double-counting has occurred only rarely in this table. Quakers, in
fact, are more likely to have switched denominations than members of any
other religious denomination. Along with taking up arms and supporting
military action against the British, a large proportion of Quaker Founding
Father officially renounced or were expelled from the ardently pacifistic
denomination they had been raised in and joined another denomination
(usually Episcopalianism).
Also, note that the proportions shown (percentage of each religious
affiliation out of the total group of Founding Fathers) is the proportion
out of Founders whose religious affiliation is known. The religious
affiliation of a significant number of signers of the Articles of
Confederation is not known, but if that information was available, it is
expected that such information would not change the overall
proportions significantly.
Religious
Affiliation of the Signers of the
Declaration of Independence
|
Religious
Affiliation
|
# of
signers
|
% of
signers
|
|
Episcopalian/Anglican
|
32
|
57.1%
|
|
Congregationalist
|
13
|
23.2%
|
|
Presbyterian
|
12
|
21.4%
|
|
Quaker
|
2
|
3.6%
|
|
Unitarian or Universalist
|
2
|
3.6%
|
|
Catholic
|
1
|
1.8%
|
|
TOTAL
|
56
|
100%
|
|
|
|
The signers of the Declaration of Independence were a
profoundly intelligent, religious and ethically-minded group. Four of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence were current or former full-time
preachers, and many more were the sons of clergymen. Other professions held
by signers include lawyers, merchants, doctors and educators. These
individuals, too, were for the most part active churchgoers and many
contributed significantly to their churches both with contributions as well
as their service as lay leaders. The signers were members of religious
denominations at a rate that was significantly higher than average for the
American Colonies during the late 1700s.
These signers have long inspired deep admiration among
both secularists (who appreciate the non-denominational nature of the
Declaration) and by traditional religionists (who appreciate the
Declaration's recognition of God as the source of the rights enumerated by
the document). Lossing's seminal 1848 collection of biographies of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence echoed widely held sentiments
held then and now that there was divine intent or inspiration behind the Declaration
of Independence. Lossing matter-of-factly identified the signers as
"instruments of Providence" who have "gone to receive their
reward in the Spirit Land."
From: B. J. Lossing, Signers of the Declaration of
Independence, George F. Cooledge & Brother: New York (1848)
[reprinted in Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence,
WallBuilder Press: Aledo, Texas (1995)], pages 7-12:
From no point of view can the Declaration of American
Independence, the causes which led to its adoption, and the events which
marked its maintenance, be observed without exciting sentiments of profound
veneration for the men who were the prominent actors in that remarkable
scene in the drama of the world's history...
The signing of that instrument was a solemn act, and
required great firmness and patriotism in those who committed it... neither
firmness nor patriotism was wanting in that august body...
Such were the men unto whose keeping, as instruments of
Providence, the destinies of America were for the time intrusted; and it
has been well remarked, that men, other than such as these,--an ignorant,
untaught mass, like those who have formed the physical elements of other
revolutionary movements, without sufficient intellect to guide and control
them--could not have conceived, planned, and carried into execution, such a
mighty movement, one so fraught with tangible marks of political wisdom, as
the American Revolution...
Their bodies now have all returned to their kindred dust
in the grave, and their souls have gone to receive their reward in the Spirit Land.
From: Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the
Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration
of Independence, published by the United States Department of the
Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1975),
pages 27-28:
Liberally endowed as a whole with courage and sense of
purpose, the signers [of the Declaration of Independence] consisted of a
distinguished group of individuals. Although heterogeneous in background,
education, experience, and accommplishments, at the time of the signing
they were practically all men of means and represented an elite cross
section of 18th-century American leadership. Everyone one of them of them
had achieved prominence in his colony, but only a few enjoyed a national
reputation.
The signers were those individuals who happened to be
Delegates to Congress at the time... The signers possessed many basic
similarities. Most were American-born and of Anglo-Saxon origin. The eight
foreign-born... were all natives of the British Isles. Except for Charles
Carroll, a Roman Catholic, and a few Deists, every one subscribed to
Protestantism. For the most part basically political nonextremists, many at
first had hesitated at separation let alone rebellion.
Religious
Affiliation of the Signers of the
Articles of Confederation
|
Religious
Affiliation
|
# of
signers
|
% of
signers
|
|
Episcopalian/Anglican
|
14
|
29%
|
|
Congregationalist
|
9
|
19%
|
|
Presbyterian
|
4
|
8%
|
|
Catholic
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Quaker
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Huguenot
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Lutheran
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
18
|
38%
|
|
TOTAL
|
48
|
100%
|
|
|
|
Name of Signer
|
State
|
Religious
Affiliation
|
|
Daniel Carroll
|
Maryland
|
Catholic
|
|
Andrew Adams
|
Connecticut
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Richard Hutson
|
South Carolina
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Samuel Adams
|
Massachusetts
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Josiah Bartlett
|
New Hampshire
|
Congregationalist
|
|
William Ellery
|
Rhode Island
|
Congregationalist
|
|
John Hancock
|
Massachusetts
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Samuel Huntington
|
Connecticut
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Roger Sherman
|
Connecticut
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Oliver Wolcott
|
Connecticut
|
Congregationalist
|
|
Thomas Heyward Jr.
|
South Carolina
|
Episcopalian
|
|
John Penn
|
North Carolina
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Francis Lightfoot Lee
|
Virginia
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Richard Henry Lee
|
Virginia
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Francis Lewis
|
New York
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Elbridge Gerry
|
Massachusetts
|
Episcopalian
|
|
John Banister
|
Virginia
|
Episcopalian
|
|
James Duane
|
New York
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Edward Langworthy
|
Georgia
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Gouverneur Morris
|
New York
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Nicholas Van Dyke
|
Delaware
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Robert Morris
|
Pennsylvania
|
Episcopalian
|
|
Cornelius Harnett
|
North Carolina
|
Episcopalian (Deist)
|
|
John Dickinson
|
Delaware
|
Quaker; Episcopalian
|
|
Henry Laurens
|
South Carolina
|
Huguenot
|
|
John Hanson
|
Maryland
|
Lutheran
|
|
Thomas McKean
|
Delaware
|
Presbyterian
|
|
John Witherspoon
|
New Jersey
|
Presbyterian
|
|
John Walton
|
Georgia
|
Presbyterian
|
|
Nathaniel Scudder
|
New Jersey
|
Presbyterian
|
|
William Clingan
|
Pennsylvania
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Joseph Reed
|
Pennsylvania
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Daniel Roberdeau
|
Pennsylvania
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Jonathan Bayard Smith
|
Pennsylvania
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Francis Dana
|
Massachusetts
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Samuel Holten
|
Massachusetts
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
James Lovell
|
Massachusetts
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Henry Marchant
|
Rhode Island
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
John Collins
|
Rhode Island
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Thomas Adams
|
Virginia
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
John Harvie
|
Virginia
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
John Mathews
|
South Carolina
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
William Henry Drayton
|
South Carolina
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
William Duer
|
New York
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Titus Hosmer
|
Connecticut
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Edward Telfair
|
Georgia
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
John Wentworth Jr.
|
New Hampshire
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
John Williams
|
North Carolina
|
Protestant, denomination unknown
|
|
Religious
Affiliation of the Delegates to the
Constitutional Convention of 1787, including the
Signers of the Constitution of the United States of America
There were 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention
of 1787 at which the U.S. Constitution was drafted and signed. All
participated in the proceedings which resulted in the Constitution, but only
39 of these delegates were actually signers of the document.
From: Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the
Constitution: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution,
published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park
Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1976), page 138:
Most of the [signers of the Constitution] married and
fathered children. Sherman sired the largest family, numbering 15 by two
wives... Three (Baldwin, Gilman, and Jenifer) were lifetime bachelors. In
terms of religious affiliation, the men mirrored the overwhelmingly
Protestant character of American religious life at the time and were
members of various denominations. Only two, Carroll and Fitzsimons, were
Roman Catholics.
|
Religious
Affiliation
|
# of
delegates
|
% of
delegates
|
|
Episcopalian/Anglican
|
31
|
56.4%
|
|
Presbyterian
|
16
|
29.1%
|
|
Congregationalist
|
8
|
14.5%
|
|
Quaker
|
3
|
5.5%
|
|
Catholic
|
2
|
3.6%
|
|
Methodist
|
2
|
3.6%
|
|
Lutheran
|
2
|
3.6%
|
|
Dutch Reformed
|
2
|
3.6%
|
|
TOTAL
|
55
|
100%
|
|
|
|
Multiple Roles
Of course, virtually all of the "Founding Fathers" had multiple
roles in the formation of the country, in the broad sense that takes into
account military leadership, financial sponsorship, various miscellaneous
state and federal positions, etc. But there were many individuals who had
multiple roles among categorie of Founding Fathers ennumerated on this
page. That is, they signed more than one of the foundational documents (the
Declaration, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution) or they
signed one (or more) of these documents and also served in the First
Federal Congress. These individuals with "multiple roles" were:
Abraham Baldwin; Benjamin Franklin; Charles Carroll; Daniel Carroll;
Elbridge Gerry; Francis Lewis; Francis Lightfoot Lee; George Clymer; George
Read; Gouverneur Morris; Hugh Williamson; James Wilson; John Dickinson;
John Hancock; John Penn; John Witherspoon; Josiah Bartlett; Nicholas
Gilman; Oliver Wolcott; Pierce Butler; Richard Bassett; Richard Henry Lee;
Robert Morris; Roger Sherman; Rufus King; Samuel Adams; Samuel Huntington;
Thomas Fitzsimons; Thomas Heyward Jr.; Thomas McKean; William Ellery;
William Few; William Floyd; William Paterson; William Samuel Johnson; James
Madison Jr.; John Langdon; Caleb Strong; Oliver Ellsworth; George Wythe.
|