One Nation Under God?

a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself, mischief to you, and no benefit to others." Using one of his more famous pithy sayings, Franklin declared: "He that spits in the wind, spits in his own face."

Franklin concluded his letter by urging Paine to "burn [Age of Reason] before it is seen by any other person."

Paine ignored Franklin's advice, and Age of Reason was published to widespread scorn and condemnation, including from prominent Founders, like John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Rush.

Franklin didn't restrict his feelings to private correspondence alone. His appeal to the Constitutional Convention to pray is a well-known fact of history, and directly led to the later practice of Congress appointing paid chaplains.

John Adams

One of the most underrated figures in our country's history, John Adams was among the most outspoken Founders on the importance of religious faith in public life.

After the Congress approved Richard Henry Lee's motion for independence on July 2, Benjamin Rush leaned over and asked the Massachusetts attorney and leader of the independence faction in Congress if the colonies could prevail against the mighty British Empire. Adams responded plainly: "Yes - if we fear God and repent of our sins."

The next day, a jubilant Adams wrote home to his wife that July 2 "will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America" and predicted it would be "celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival" with fireworks, pomp, and parades. Though he was off by two days (the country settling on the Declaration of Independence as its birthday, forgetting Richard Henry Lee's motion for independence), Adams proclaimed that America's birthday "ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty."

In 1777, John Adams served on a congressional committee charged with remedying the problem of a Bible shortage in America. His committee reported back to Congress its recommendation that the Committee of Commerce be directed "to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the States of the Union."

Adams repeatedly voted in the affirmative as the Continental Congress proclaimed several days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving during the course of the American Revolution.

Years later, in a letter to Benjamin Rush, Adams identified "religion and virtue" as the "only foundations...of republicanism and of all free governments."

It is true that Adams, while President, signed a treaty with Tripoli that

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