Did the Founding Fathers put God in the Constitution?
Asked by: Dr. Shad Douglas Sr. | Last update: January 25, 2026Score: 4.7/5 (9 votes)
After the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when Alexander Hamilton was asked why God had not been mentioned in the Constitution, he reportedly quipped, "We forgot." True! The story of Hamilton's famous quip may be apocryphal, but the Founders really didn't mention God in our country's charter.
Did the founding fathers mention God in the constitution?
While the U.S. Constitution does not mention God, nearly all state constitutions reference either God or the divine, according to a 2017 analysis. God also appears in the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and on U.S. currency.
When was God added to the U.S. Constitution?
The phrase "one nation, under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. These references to God are not in the original Constitution but were introduced later, reflecting the influence of religious sentiment in the country's history.
Did our founding fathers believe in God?
Many of the Founding Fathers were men of prayer who sought God's guidance in their decisions. For instance, Benjamin Franklin, during the Constitutional Convention, famously called for daily prayers, recognizing the need for divine assistance in their deliberations.
How many times is God referenced in the U.S. Constitution?
The U.S. Constitution never explicitly mentions God or the divine, but the same cannot be said of the nation's state constitutions. In fact, God or the divine is mentioned at least once in each of the 50 state constitutions and nearly 200 times overall, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
Did the Founding Fathers want God, the Bible and prayer to be part of our government?
Is God mentioned in the Declaration of Independence?
In the Declaration there are three references to God, and each one is different. In one reference, Jefferson uses the term "Nature's God." Later, he uses "Creator" and lastly "Divine Providence." Many scholars have debated on how to interpret his use of these terms.
Where in the Constitution does it say under God?
U.S. Congress, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the 1954 Congressional amendment adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance violated the First Amendment's proscription that, “Congress shall make not law respecting an establishment of religion.” Because ...
What did our founding fathers say about the Bible?
John Quincy Adams: “[The Bible] is of all books in the world that which contributes most to make men good, wise, and happy.” Elias Boudinot: “Were you to ask me to recommend the most valuable book in the world, I should fix on the Bible as the most instructive, both to the wise and ignorant.”
What religion were the signers of the Constitution?
The denominations breakdown runs as follows: 32 of the signers, well over half, were Episcopalians, or Anglicans, the old state Church of England. There were 13 Congregationalists, 12 were Presbyterians. There were two Quakers, two Unitarians, and one Roman Catholic.
What God were the founding fathers referring to?
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 ...
Is Jesus mentioned in the Constitution?
The Constitution does not mention God, Jesus Christ, or Christianity. It contains the word “religion” only twice, in Article 6, which exempts government office holders from a religious test; and in the First Amendment.
Why was God left out of the Constitution?
In Philadelphia, the delegates agreed that the federal government should be kept out of religion. Some, like Madison, favored a complete separation of church and state at the federal and the state level. Others wanted to permit the individual states to support established churches if they so chose.
Why did they add under God to the pledge?
In the context of the full Pledge, the words “Under God” offer a patriotic expression of the importance of religion in the nation's heritage. They don't endorse one religious viewpoint over another.
What religion was the U.S. built on?
Some researchers and authors have referred to the United States as a "Protestant nation" or "founded on Protestant principles," specifically emphasizing its Calvinist heritage. Others stress the secular character of the American Revolution and note the secular character of the nation's founding documents.
Do deists believe in Jesus?
Deists believe that Jesus was a nice guy who said a lot of important things. However, they don't know if He is the Son of God, or really what that even means.
Did the founding fathers make a covenant with God?
Our founding explorers and our founding fathers made covenants with God over our nation. Those covenants still stand today! The 1607 Covenant. They dedicated our nation to the glory of God.
Did the Founding Fathers believe in God?
In reality, a number of the key American Founders were neither Christians nor deists, but theistic rationalists. Theistic rationalists believed in a powerful, rational, and benevolent creator God who was present and active in human affairs.
Is God mentioned in the Constitution of the United States?
In the United States, the federal constitution does not make a reference to God as such, although it uses the formula "the year of our Lord" in Article VII.
When was God We Trust added?
"In God We Trust" first appeared on paper money in 1957 on the one-dollar silver certificate. In November 1956, Congress passed a joint resolution declaring "In God We Trust" to be the official motto of the United States.
Why were 75 books removed from the Bible?
Their eventual exclusion was not because they were regarded as heretical, but because they either lacked apostolic authorship or were thought to be too shallow in spiritual content.
Which Founding Fathers believed in Jesus?
Some of the founding fathers were traditional Christians in that they believed firmly in the divinity of Jesus Christ and the biblical story. Such founding fathers include Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and Jon Jay. Additionally, many of the Founding Fathers' wives and daughters were practicing Christians.
What did George Washington say about the Bible?
He expressed a commonplace notion of the era when he famously stated in the Farewell Address (1796): "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports." Washington treated the Bible with respect and reverence in his writings.
Is Jesus mentioned in the Declaration of Independence?
The declaration doesn't mention the trinity, the resurrection, Christ's divinity, or other essential Christian tenets.
Where does it say God given rights in the Constitution?
All can regard their rights as unalienable, their liberty as inviolable. Unlike the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution contains no reference to God.
What religion was Thomas Jefferson?
He was a Christian deist because he saw Christianity as the highest expression of natural religion and Jesus as an incomparably great moral teacher. He was not an orthodox Christian because he rejected, among other things, the doctrines that Jesus was the promised Messiah and the incarnate Son of God.