George Washington Quotes
Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
Washington, George. "Washington's Farewell Address." 19 Sept. 1796. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, vol. 35, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1940, p. 229.
This quotation is sometimes used to show that Washington thought religion important. Most of the founding fathers thought religion both important and potentially dangerous. They had observed Europe tear itself apart over religious differences. Note that Washington uses the words “religious principles” as opposed to “religion” or “religious prescriptions” or “religious doctrine.” The founders were not hostile to the concept of religion—even Jefferson and Franklin saw potential values in religion and religious institutions. They were hostile, however, to letting any particular sect dominate the religious environment of the nation. Nor did they want any of the religions controlling or operating the civil government. See {625616}.
Jefferson was not anti-Christian as some accuse him. He was a great admirer of Jesus’ life and philosophy. He did object to the non-ethical aspects of Christianity, miracles, dogma, organized churches. See {611664}. Jefferson even went so far as to write his own version of the Bible—New Testament sometimes called the “Jefferson Bible”—where he translated the material and then extracted the ethical principles leaving out everything else.
George Washington was the first President of the United States (1789-97), the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his lifetime was called the "father of his country".
