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Christianity and the Founding Fathers
It has been debated that the Founding Fathers were heavily influenced by Christianity.
However, through this reading, the correlation between philosophical and theological influence is
clear. During the eighteenth century, Christianity was the main directive for one’s thoughts on the
law, one’s society, and one’s morality. Most importantly, it was the influence of Calvinism and
Puritanism that influenced the Founding Fathers. This influence highlighted the immorality of
human nature, limited government, Biblical law, individual rights, religious liberty, etc. (Van
Heemst, 2019). Further, the Founding Fathers believed that the fundamental principles given to
society should not be controlled by an individual or government, but to be determined by God
and natural law. As stated, “America’s founders regularly appealed to natural law and
natural rights” (Hall, 2019, p. 42). Natural law aided in the establishment of the United States’
legal system as we now know it.
John Locke greatly influenced the Founding Fathers philosophically. Most importantly,
the influence was utilized in the composition of Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution. The Founding Fathers agreed with Locke in his belief that mankind has the right to
life, liberty and property. Lock also influenced the Founders in way of his belief that mankind
possess the right to take over government in the event their rights are violated. Theologically, the
Founding Fathers were influenced by the Bible and Christianity. An example of this lies within
the Constitution where it specifically references the Sabbath day stating that the President only
has ten (10) days to sign a bill into law, with the exception of Sunday’s (U.S. Const. art. I, § 7.).
An additional example lies within the Declaration of Independence and states “all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” (U.S.
Declaration of Independence, Paragraph 2, 1776).
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The common factor here is morality. Morality educates us that all of mankind deserves
the same treatment regardless of one’s beliefs. As God’s Word states, “Therefore, whatever you
want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (New King James
Bible, 1769/1982, Matthew 7:12).
References
Hall, M. D. (2019). Did America Have a Christian Founding?. HarperCollins
Christian. https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9781400211111
Van Heemst, D. (2019). “Religious Liberty,” [Video file].
https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=
_43501680_1&course_id=_649622_1
U.S. Const. art. I, § 7. Retrieved from
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-HPRACTICE-104/pdf/GPO-HPRACTICE-
104-57.pdf
U.S. Declaration of Independence. (1776). Retreived from
https://www.archives.gov/founding- docs/declaration?
_ga=2.204126104.967367269.1680191277-934901619.1680191277
New King James Bible. (1982) Thomas Nelson. (Original work published 1769)
