If the Founders were generally men of faith, then it is
illogical to believe that they would establish public policies either to
prohibit or to inhibit expressions of the faith they cherished. On the other
hand, if the contemporary portrayal is correct, and if as many now claims the
Founders were by and large a collective group of atheists, agnostics, and
deists, then it is logical that they would not want religious activities as a
part of official public life. Therefore, a vital question to be answered in the
current debate over the historical and constitutional role of public religious
expressions is, "What was the overall religious disposition of the Founding
Fathers?"

Before delving into an investigation of their religious
nature, it is important first to establish what constitutes a "Founding
Father." As previously noted in the preface, for the purpose of this work, a
"Founding Father" is one who exerted significant influence in, provided
prominent leadership for, or had a substantial impact upon the birth,
development, and establishment of America as an independent, self-governing
nation. This obviously includes the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of
Independence, as well as the fourteen different Presidents who governed America
from 1774 to 1789. Under America's unicameral system prior to the Constitution,
the President of the Continental Congress essentially served as the President
of America.

Additionally, the handful of significant military leaders
who provided leadership for, fought for, and secured our independence must be
included. In other words, without the work of the fifty-six men who signed the
Declaration, the fourteen Presidents of America who led the Continental
Congress, or the three-dozen or so prominent military leaders, America as we
know it undoubtedly would not exist today.

Included next are the fifty-five men at the
Constitutional Convention as well as the major leaders responsible for the
ratification of the Constitution on many occasions, these were the State
Governors without whose efforts there would have been no United States of
America. Therefore, without the work of the delegates at the Constitutional
Convention and the leaders of the ratification movement, America would not have
the form of government it has now enjoyed for over two centuries.