5-Minute Videos

Fireside Chats

Was America founded to be secular? Far from it. The political philosophy of the Founders necessitated a divine foundation. 

Thomas Jefferson said that the “only firm basis” of a free society is a conviction that liberty is "the gift of God.”

George Washington maintained that “religion and morality” are “indispensable supports” of a nation’s prosperity.

Was America designed to be secular? Madison, the Father of the Constitution, believed “religion is the basis and foundation of government.”

James Madison stated that belief in God “is essential to the moral order of the World and the happiness of men.”

John Adams famously affirmed the importance of religion, stating, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.”

Alexander Hamilton condemned the French Revolution in part because it attempted to destroy the “beneficent religion of the Gospel.” 

To the Founders, the issue of religion and freedom were inextricably linked: You couldn’t have freedom without religion.