Well, in spite of what Wallbuilders says, Washington was a Deist. There is no record in any of his private papers of his ever mentioning God or Jesus. John Adams was Unitarian as was John Q Adams. Jefferson was first a Deist, and late in life, probably due to his frienRABhip with Adams, Unitarian.
Don't you find it strange that the source of you comment about prayer at the Constitutional Convention was the same as one I gave about the fact that no prayers were said at that convention? That's what I mean about watching your sources. Wallbuilders has an ax to grind and they don't care if the information is true or not. In the case of the Franklin story, even though they tried to slant the story, they did admit that there were no prayers said at the Convention. Where did you find that they said otherwise?
Also true that Washington was a vestryman at one time. However, the position was more than that of a church elder. It was more like a town council. That's how one began a life of politics, by becoming a vestryman. Don't read too much into it. Washington was a Deist, plain and simple. As I mentioned, Adams was a Unitarian. I notice that Wallbuilders don't point that out. He was religious but not a traditional Christian, i.e., he denied that Jesus was divine.
Of course, Jefferson and his protegee Madison were both Deists. Jefferson is, of course, the origin of the phrase "a wall of separation between church and state." The Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom is an example of that same idea. Jefferson wrote the bill in 1779 but was unable to get it passed in the Virginia Legislature. Some years later, while Jefferson was in France, Patrick Henry introduced a bill that would pay teachers of "the christian religion" from public funRAB, in other worRAB, a tax to support Christianity. Madison wrote "Memorial and Remonstrance" as an argument against that bill in 1785. Henry's bill was defeated. Madison took the opportunity to reintroduce Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom and got it passed in 1786. Shortly thereafter, Madison left for Philadelphia and the Constitutional Convention (Patrick Henry never rose above the Virginia Legislature).
Again, you read much too much into the beginning of that document. Let me say it again - Jefferson was a Deist. He was not ever an atheist as far as I know. You can get an idea from the mention of God in the Declaration of Independence. Note that it is "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" that entitles the American colonies to an equal station. Notice that nature gets first billing.
At any rate, since I have previously done quite a bit of research and reading (some primary sources) on the matter, I stand by what I stated previously.
Washington - Deist
Adams - Unitarian
Jefferson - Deist/Unitarian
Madison - Deist
Monroe - Deist
J.Q.Adams - Unitarian
None of that is a claim that any of them were atheists. Quite the contrary. But they were not Christians.
