One Nation Under God?
During the First Congress, Representative Madison served on the U.S. House of Representatives committee, which authorized the selection of paid chaplains for each house of Congress.
In 1812, President Madison supported economic assistance to the Bible Society of Philadelphia in their evangelistic and distribution efforts.
And while President, Madison issued several proclamations for national days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving.
Yet, later in life, Madison reevaluated some of his earlier positions and actions, and expressed apprehension that perhaps he had gone too far. He would, in his Detached Memoranda, reverse himself on the matter of paid congressional chaplains.
Regardless of the particulars, Madison never retreated from his belief expressed in 1785 that before "any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe." In other words, he must be "under God."
Benjamin Franklin
Despite his close friendship with evangelist George Whitefield, one of the most famous figures of the Great Awakening, there is no evidence that Benjamin Franklin ever made a commitment to the Christian faith. Unlike the vast majority of his peers, Franklin identified himself as a "Deist," and avoided church membership all his life. He was a man of reason, not so much of faith. Schooled in the Enlightenment philosophies and driven to push the envelope of mental reasoning independent of any external superstition, Franklin was never short of critics from organized churches.
Still, a person doesn't have to be a Christian to believe in God. And one does not have to be a Christian to believe that mankind must operate within God's laws in order to prosper and be successful.
When Thomas Paine, a friend and protégé of Franklin, forwarded an advance copy of his Age of Reason, Franklin was less than encouraging. Paine's Age of Reason was a scathing attack on organized religion in America, and Paine believed his condemnation of America's mainline churches would win Franklin's full support. The reverse is what actually happened.
Franklin responded to Paine's request for editorial comment, expressing deep concern that Paine's pamphlet "strike[s] at the foundation of all religion." Franklin warned: "For without the belief of a Providence that takes cognizance of, guards, and guides, and may favor particular persons, there is no motive to worship a Deity, to fear his displeasure, or to pray for his protection."
Appealing to his friendship with Paine, Franklin wrote that the "consequence of printing this piece will be a
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