Religious Affiliation of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

adherents.com ^ | Dec 2005 | adherents.com

[NoLibZone]

Religious Affiliation of the Signers of the
Declaration of Independence

Religious Affiliation	# of signers	% of signers
Episcopalian/Anglican	32	57.1%
Congregationalist	13	23.2%
Presbyterian	12	21.4%
Quaker	2	3.6%
Unitarian or Universalist	2	3.6%
Catholic	1	1.8%
TOTAL	56	100%

Name of Signer	State	Religious Affiliation
Charles Carroll	Maryland	Catholic
Samuel Huntington	Connecticut	Congregationalist
Roger Sherman	Connecticut	Congregationalist
William Williams	Connecticut	Congregationalist
Oliver Wolcott	Connecticut	Congregationalist
Lyman Hall	Georgia	Congregationalist
Samuel Adams	Massachusetts	Congregationalist
John Hancock	Massachusetts	Congregationalist
Josiah Bartlett	New Hampshire	Congregationalist
William Whipple	New Hampshire	Congregationalist
William Ellery	Rhode Island	Congregationalist
John Adams	Massachusetts	Congregationalist; Unitarian
Robert Treat Paine	Massachusetts	Congregationalist; Unitarian
George Walton	Georgia	Episcopalian
John Penn	North Carolina	Episcopalian
George Ross	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian
Thomas Heyward Jr.	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Thomas Lynch Jr.	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Arthur Middleton	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Edward Rutledge	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Francis Lightfoot Lee	Virginia	Episcopalian
Richard Henry Lee	Virginia	Episcopalian
George Read	Delaware	Episcopalian
Caesar Rodney	Delaware	Episcopalian
Samuel Chase	Maryland	Episcopalian
William Paca	Maryland	Episcopalian
Thomas Stone	Maryland	Episcopalian
Elbridge Gerry	Massachusetts	Episcopalian
Francis Hopkinson	New Jersey	Episcopalian
Francis Lewis	New York	Episcopalian
Lewis Morris	New York	Episcopalian
William Hooper	North Carolina	Episcopalian
Robert Morris	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian
John Morton	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian
Stephen Hopkins	Rhode Island	Episcopalian
Carter Braxton	Virginia	Episcopalian
Benjamin Harrison	Virginia	Episcopalian
Thomas Nelson Jr.	Virginia	Episcopalian
George Wythe	Virginia	Episcopalian
Thomas Jefferson	Virginia	Episcopalian (Deist)
Benjamin Franklin	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian (Deist)
Button Gwinnett	Georgia	Episcopalian; Congregationalist
James Wilson	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian; Presbyterian
Joseph Hewes	North Carolina	Quaker, Episcopalian
George Clymer	Pennsylvania	Quaker, Episcopalian
Thomas McKean	Delaware	Presbyterian
Matthew Thornton	New Hampshire	Presbyterian
Abraham Clark	New Jersey	Presbyterian
John Hart	New Jersey	Presbyterian
Richard Stockton	New Jersey	Presbyterian
John Witherspoon	New Jersey	Presbyterian
William Floyd	New York	Presbyterian
Philip Livingston	New York	Presbyterian
James Smith	Pennsylvania	Presbyterian
George Taylor	Pennsylvania	Presbyterian
Benjamin Rush	Pennsylvania	Presbyterian

The signers of the Declaration of Independence were a profoundly intelligent, religious and ethically-minded group. Four of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were current or former full-time preachers, and many more were the sons of clergymen. Other professions held by signers include lawyers, merchants, doctors and educators. These individuals, too, were for the most part active churchgoers and many contributed significantly to their churches both with contributions as well as their service as lay leaders. The signers were members of religious denominations at a rate that was significantly higher than average for the American Colonies during the late 1700s.

These signers have long inspired deep admiration among both secularists (who appreciate the non-denominational nature of the Declaration) and by traditional religionists (who appreciate the Declaration's recognition of God as the source of the rights enumerated by the document). Lossing's seminal 1848 collection of biographies of the signers of the Declaration of Independence echoed widely held sentiments held then and now that there was divine intent or inspiration behind the Declaration of Independence. Lossing matter-of-factly identified the signers as "instruments of Providence" who have "gone to receive their reward in the Spirit Land."

From: B. J. Lossing, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, George F. Cooledge & Brother: New York (1848) [reprinted in Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, WallBuilder Press: Aledo, Texas (1995)], pages 7-12:

From no point of view can the Declaration of American Independence, the causes which led to its adoption, and the events which marked its maintenance, be observed without exciting sentiments of profound veneration for the men who were the prominent actors in that remarkable scene in the drama of the world's history...

The signing of that instrument was a solemn act, and required great firmness and patriotism in those who committed it... neither firmness nor patriotism was wanting in that august body...

Such were the men unto whose keeping, as instruments of Providence, the destinies of America were for the time intrusted; and it has been well remarked, that men, other than such as these,--an ignorant, untaught mass, like those who have formed the physical elements of other revolutionary movements, without sufficient intellect to guide and control them--could not have conceived, planned, and carried into execution, such a mighty movement, one so fraught with tangible marks of political wisdom, as the American Revolution...

Their bodies now have all returned to their kindred dust in the grave, and their souls have gone to receive their reward in the Spirit Land.

From: Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1975), pages 27-28:

Liberally endowed as a whole with courage and sense of purpose, the signers [of the Declaration of Independence] consisted of a distinguished group of individuals. Although heterogeneous in background, education, experience, and accommplishments, at the time of the signing they were practically all men of means and represented an elite cross section of 18th-century American leadership. Everyone one of them of them had achieved prominence in his colony, but only a few enjoyed a national reputation.

The signers were those individuals who happened to be Delegates to Congress at the time... The signers possessed many basic similarities. Most were American-born and of Anglo-Saxon origin. The eight foreign-born... were all natives of the British Isles. Except for Charles Carroll, a Roman Catholic, and a few Deists, every one subscribed to Protestantism. For the most part basically political nonextremists, many at first had hesitated at separation let alone rebellion.

[Matchett-PI]

Clic k my screen name and scroll 1/2 way down the page or so . :)

[Matchett-PI]

Exactly.

[Matchett-PI]

"Hey, there are no Lutherans either."

There were two. Click my screen name and scroll more than 1/2 way down.

[ansel12]

Roger Williams and the 11 or 12 men with him (including Benedict Arnold’s ancestor), did found the first Baptist church in America in 1638.

Baptists are now the most numerous Protestants, they are only outnumbered by the Catholics, Southern Baptists alone, are second in number only to the Catholics.

[Gay State Conservative]

Were the Unitarians or Universalists back then atheists as they are today? I know the Anglicans and Presbyterians weren't.

[Arrowhead1952]

Thomas Mifflin, Lutheran (Calvinist-lite)
Jacob Broom, Lutheran

Thanks, I never knew that.

[240B]

Sophistry and circumlocution.

I read your post and do not see your point. The fact that the Government cannot enact and control religion has nothing to do with ‘banning’ anyone (except Muslims) from saying a prayer in school.

I read a story about a child sent home simply because he brought a Bible to school. Explain that. Is that what the founders wanted?

Football players are being told that they cannot pray or say anything religious after scoring a touchdown. That is what the founders wanted?

No, my friend, it is you who has no idea. The modern concept of the so called ‘separation’ is equivalent to a ‘ban’ on religion. (except Muslims)

There was never an intent of any founding father that religion should not be a full part of public life, government, and schools.

Their noble intent was to restrict government from interfering, forcing, or controlling a particular religion.

BTW, my friend, posting 3 pages of legal writings does not automatically make you 'right'. If you have a point then make it succinctly. Make a point.

If you can't dazzle them with your intelligence, the baffle them with your BS. doesn't work well on FR.

[TurkeyLurkey]

“The first Muslim Member of Congress was John Randolph of Virginia, who served in Congress from 1799-1834. Significantly, Francis Scott Key, author of the “Star Spangled Banner,” befriended Randolph and faithfully shared Christ with him. Randolph eventually converted from Islam to Christianity and became a strong personal advocate for his newfound faith. (Key also shared Christianity with other Muslims, and even bought them copies of the Christian Bible printed in Arabic.)”

—From “An Historical Perspective on a Muslim Being Sworn into Congress on the Koran,” by David Barton, January, 2007

[jafojeffsurf]

Context is important is it not?

You cited “The civil Government, though bereft of everything like an associated hierarchy, possesses the requisite stability, and performs its functions with complete success, whilst the number, the industry, and the morality of the priesthood, and the devotion of the people, have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the church from the State (Letter to Robert Walsh, Mar. 2, 1819).”

as one of your examples and I am assuming you are saying Madison defined and supported the current liberal/progressive view of “separation of church and state” I believe. But when you read the full context you may see things differently. Specifically the line just before your quote “It was the Universal opinion of the Century preceding the

last, that Civil Govt could not stand without the prop of a Religious

establishment, & that the Xn religion itself, would perish if not supported

by a legal provision for its Clergy.”

Full Paragraph and link to letter below.

That there has been an increase of religious instruction since the

revolution can admit of no question. The English church was originally the

established religion, the character of the clergy that above described. Of

other sects there were but few adherents, except the Presbyterians who

predominated on the W side of the Blue Mountains. A little time previous to

the Revolutionary struggle the Baptists sprang up, and made a very rapid

progress. Among the early acts of the Republican Legislature, were those

abolishing the Religious establishment, and putting all Sects at full

liberty and on a perfect level. At present the population is divided, with

small exceptions, among the Protestant Episcopalians, the Presbyterians, the

Baptists & the Methodists. Of their comparative numbers I can command no

sources of information. I conjecture the Presbytenans & Baptists to form

each abt a third, & the two other sects together of which the Methodists are

much the smallest, to make up the remaining third. The Old churches, built

under the establisht at the public expence, have in many instances gone to

ruin, or are in a very dilapidated state, owing chiefly to a transition

desertion of the flocks to other worships. A few new ones have latterly been

built particularly in the towns. Among the other sects, Meeting Houses, have

multiplied & continue to multiply, tho’ in general they are of the plainest

and cheapest sort. But neither the number nor the style of the Religious

edifices is a true measure of the state of religion. Religious instruction

is now diffused throughout the Community by preachers of every sect with

almost equal zeal, tho’ with very unequal acquirements, and at private

houses & open stations and occasionally in such as are appropriated to Civil

use, as well as buildings appropriated to that use. The qualifications of

the Preachers, too among the new sects where there was the greatest

deficiency, are understood to be improving. On a general comparison of the

present & former times, the balance is certainly & vastly on the side of the

present, as to the number of religious teachers the zeal which actuates

them, the purity of their lives, and the attendance of the people on their

instructions. It was the Universal opinion of the Century preceding the

last, that Civil Govt could not stand without the prop of a Religious

establishment, & that the Xn religion itself, would perish if not supported

by a legal provision for its Clergy. The experience of Virginia

conspicuously corroborates the disproof of both opinions. The Civil Govt,

tho’ bereft of everything like an associated hierarchy, possesses the

requisite stability and performs its functions with complete success, Whilst

the number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood, & the devotion

of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the

Church from the State.

One source is http://www.constitution.org/jm/18190302_walsh.txt

[John Leland 1789]

"The Baptists didn’t really organize much in America either until the beginning of the 19th Century." -------------------------------------------------

There were not large associations or denominational structures of Baptists, but there were hundreds of local Baptist congregations all over the colonies.

English Baptist congregations had moved as whole bodies to the colonies.

The Rhode Island area had strong Baptist congregations from the 17th century. Many of those people had left the colonies from the north because of persecution toward them from the Congregational churches, which demanded public attendance at the Congregational churches. Many Baptists, Quakers, and independents were jailed, fined, taxed, run out in/from the northern colonies.

Thousands of converts of the great Evangelist George Whitefield (Anglican), never joined the Anglican churches, but joined with New Light Congregationalists, independents, and many, many of them with Baptists on the western frontier.

I recommend two books: (1)America in Crimson Red, The Baptist History of America by James Beller of Arnold, Missouri, and The Separate Baptists, The Life and Times of Shubal Stearns. The author's name for the latter escapes me at the moment, but it can be Googled. It is published by the University of Kentucky Press . Dr. Beller's book is published by Prairie Fire Press in Arnold, Missouri (hardback, high quality).

Shubal Stearns Baptist church near present day Greensboro, NC, had 1,000 members in the mid 18th century and was directly responsible for the planting of more than 1,000 local churches in the Carolina's, Kentucky, Tennessee, and north Georgia.

The Separate Baptists of the same strain planted churches all the way to the Wabash River and Vincennes, Indiana by 1825.

The Baptists of Virginia had very direct influence on the writing of the Bill of Rights, their prominent leader, John Leland, being a personal friend and confidante of James Madison.

[hennie pennie]

>>>> ""The first Muslim Member of Congress was John Randolph of Virginia, who served in Congress from 1799-1834." <<<<

Is this John RANDOLPH of the same Randolph family as intermarried with the Jeffersons? How did the Randolphs become followers of Islam?

Anybody know?

[Salvation]

Great article. Thanks.

[Salvation]

Something to ponder there!

[Hank Kerchief]

“I read your post and do not see your point.”

Well, that explains everything. No wonder the country is going down the collectivist statist socialist rat-hole. Thanks for your part in destroying my country.

Hank

[Guenevere]

bttt

[TurkeyLurkey]

I have no idea...the original reference citing John Randolph’s conversion is:

Hugh A. Garland, “The life of John Randolph”, pp. 87-88, in a letter from Francis Scott Key, May-June 1816; pp. 99-100, Randolph’s letter to Francis Scott Key, Sept. 7, 1818, pp. 103-104, Key’s letter to Randolf; 106-107, Key’s reply to Randolph’s letter of May 3, 1819, and pp. 108-109, Key’s reply to Randolph’s letter of Aug. 8, 1819.

[hennie pennie]

http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/John_Randolph_of_Roanoke

>>>> Randolph was raised and remained within the Episcopalian Church. Historians reject assertions that Randolph at any time was a Muslim; the only evidence is one letter in 1818 in which he said that as a youth he rooted for the Muslim side when reading about the Crusades.[2] <<<<<

[ansel12]

I don’t think historians buy into that claim by that author, that John Randolph was a Muslim.

[gitmo]

There is no ‘constitutional’ separation of Church and State.

This is and has always been a myth created by Liberals.

Wrongo, on both counts. They're just reading a different Constitution.

Article 52 [Religion]

(1) Citizens of the USSR are guaranteed freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion, and to conduct religious worship or atheistic propaganda. Incitement of hostility or hatred on religious grounds is prohibited.

(2) In the USSR, the church is separated from the state, and the school from the church.

-Constitution of the USSR

[Hank Kerchief]

Sorry I do not agree a theocracy is freedom. Freedom allows anyone to believe and worship as they choose, which means Christians are free to practice their religion and worship in any way they choose. Your view will oppress all those who do not believe as you do, and choose to worship God, or not, as they choose.

If you hate individual liberty so much, perhaps your should be a Muslim.

I’d die to preserve your freedom to believe and worship as you belive and choose, It’s obvious you would have me die if I do not embrace your beliefs. May your God have mercy on your enslaving soul.

Hank