A COMPARISION OF WASHINGTON AND LATITUDINARIANISM
(1) Orthodoxy in the historical sense of acceptance of the contents of the traditional Christian creeds. Washington was an active worshiper in the Anglican tradition, and thus regularly said all of the creeds. As a sponsor of a child in baptism some nine different times, he affirmed the articles of the Apostles Creed, article by article, on nine occasions in a worship setting. No Deist could affirm all those key, historic Christian doctrines.
(2) Conformity to the Church of England as by law established, with its Episcopal government, its Thirty-Nine Articles, and the Book of Common Prayer. Washington took all of the required oaths to become a public surveyor and to become a vestryman in the Church of England. He remained an active member and parishioner of the Episcopal Church until he died. There is no record of his ever renouncing any element of the Anglican tradition except for loyalty to the King which was set aside in the Revolution.
(3) Advocacy of ‘reason’ in religion. To Burwell Bassett, Washington wrote, “as far as the strength of our reason and religion can carry us…”17 And to Benjamin Lincoln, “Time alone can blunt the keen edge of afflictions; Philosophy and our Religion holds out to us such hopes as will, upon proper reflection, enable us to bear with fortitude the most calamitous incidents of life and these are all that can be expected from the feelings of humanity; is all which they will yield.”18
(4) Theological minimalism;
To Dr. James Anderson, “I have no inclination to touch, much less to dilate on politics. For in politics, as in religion my tenets are few and simple.”19
(5) An Arminian scheme of justification;
He wrote to Tobias Lear, “It is the nature of humanity to mourn for the loss of our friends…To say how much we loved, and esteemed our departed friend, is unnecessary. She is now no more! but she must be happy, because her virtue has a claim to it.”20
And his stepson, John Parke Custis, wrote to Martha Washington from Kings College on July 5, 1773,
I receiv’d Pappa’s melancholy Letter, giveing an account of my dear & only Sister’s Death… Her case is more to be envied than pitied, for if we mortals can distinguish between those who are deserveing of grace & who are not, I am confident she enjoys that Bliss prepar’d only for the good & virtuous, let these consideration, My dear Mother have their due weight with you and comfort yourself with reflecting that she now enjoys in substance what we in this world enjoy in imagination & that there is no real Happiness on this side of the grave. I must allow that to sustain a shock of this kind requires more Philosophy than we in general are (possest) off, …I will no longer detain you on a subject which is painful to us both but conclude with beging you to remember you are a Christian and that we ought to submit with Patience to the divine Will and that to render you happy shall be the constant care of your effectionate and dutiful son.
John Parke Custis21
George and Martha Washington instilled a strong Christian worldview upon their son/stepson, so that when death took his sister, he saw the big picture and was not without hope. Washington himself said in a letter to Burnwell Basset informing him of Patsy Custis’ sudden passing, “the Sweet Innocent Girl Entered into a more happy and peaceful abode than any she has met with in the afflicted Path she hitherto has trod.”22
Yet in terms of the sovereignty of Providence, Washington does not fit simply into the “Arminian” category. This is seen when the comment to Tobias Lear (quoted above) (see p. 912(5)) is put in context.
It is the nature of humanity to mourn for the loss of our friends; and the more we loved them, the more poignant is our grief. It is part of the precepts of Religion and Philosophy, to consider the Dispensations of Providence as wise, immutable, uncontroulable; of course, that it is our duty to submit with as little repining, as the sensibility of our natures is capable of to all its decrees. But nature will, notwithstanding, indulge, for a while, its sorrow’s. To say how much we loved, and esteemed our departed friend, is unnecessary. She is now no more! but she must be happy, because her virtue has a claim to it.
And to Burwell Bassett who lost a child just months before the Washingtons, he wrote,
we sympathize in the misfortune, and lament the decree which has deprived you of so dutiful a child, and the world of so promising a young lady, stands in no need, I hope, of argument to prove; but the ways of Providence being inscrutable, and the justice of it not to be scanned by the shallow eye of humanity, nor to be counteracted by the utmost efforts of human power or wisdom, resignation, and as far as the strength of our reason and religion can carry us, a cheerful acquiescence to the Divine Will, is what we are to aim;23
(6) Practical morality above creedal speculation and precision;
He wrote to Capt. John Posey, “you must give me leave to say that it is Works and not Words that People will judge from…”24
And to John Sullivan, he penned, “A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words are the true criterion….”25 As we have seen, this was a theme in Washington’s life he was a man of actions, not words. And those actions reflected his active Christian faith.
(7) A distinctive sermon style.
Obviously Washington did not preach sermons in the technical sense. But he collected sermons, read sermons to his family, claimed on a couple of occasions he was “turning preacher” and emphasized the great value of the sermon, not only by commending several clergymen in writing for their sermons, but saying the following to his soldiers,
General Orders: “In justice to the zeal and ability of the Chaplains, as well as to his own feelings, the Commander in chief thinks it a duty to declare the regularity and decorum with which divine service is now performed every Sunday, will reflect great credit on the army in general, tend to improve the morals, and at the same time, to increase the happiness of the soldiery, and must afford the most pure and rational entertainment for every serious and well disposed mind. No fatigue except on extra occasions, nor General review or inspections to be permitted on the Sabbath day.”26
Furthermore, he paid money for pews that were well-situated by the pulpit, and the Communion table so he could hear the sermons. To this day, you can go to see the George Washington box-pews at Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia; Pohick Church, Lorton, Virginia (where the entire interior has been recreated, including Washington’s pew); Trinity Episcopal Church, Newport, Rhode Island; Christ Church, Philadelphia; and St. Paul’s Chapel, New York City. Hearing sermons was apparently very important to Washington throughout his life. And, we should add, these were Christian sermons, not deistic ones.
(8) Certain connections with seventeenth-century science and the Royal Society of London.
Washington was a member of scientific societies such as the American Philosophical Society, and he corresponded with members of agricultural societies in England. His science and ideas of creation were complementary. To the American Philosophical Society, “In the philosophic retreat to which I am retiring, I shall often contemplate with pleasure the extensive utility of your Institution. The field of investigation is ample, the benefits which will result to Human Society from discoveries yet to be made, are indubitable, and the task of studying the works of the great Creator, inexpressibly delightful.”27
(9) Washington’s comfort level with the Reformed and Presbyterian churches both in terms of Communion, church life, piety and prayer are remarkable. He communed with Presbyterians in Morristown.28 He may have communed with German Reformed in Germantown. He sent many collegial letters to Reformed churches with which he had a special bond because of their intimate support of the work of the army in the Revolution. He corresponded openly with their clergy expressing his views of “true religion.”
• To the minister of the Reformed Dutch Church, “Your benevolent wishes and fervent prayers for my personal wellfare and felicity, demand all my gratitude. May the preservation of your civil and religious Liberties still be the care of an indulgent Providence; and may the rapid increase and universal extension of knowledge virtue and true Religion be the consequence of a speedy and honorable Peace.”29
• To the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church, Washington asseverated, “I readily join with you that ‘while just government protects all in their religious rights, true religion affords to government its surest support.30
• To the First Presbytery of the Eastward, Newburyport, October 28. “I am persuaded, you will permit me to observe that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political direction.”31
• To Col. Benedict Arnold (pre-treason). “I also give it in Charge to you to avoid all Disrespect to or Contempt of the Religion of the Country and its Ceremonies. Prudence, Policy, and a true Christian Spirit, will lead us to look with Compassion upon their Errors without insulting them.”32
• To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Churches in the United States, “…no man, who is profligate in his morals, or a bad member of the civil community, can possibly be a true Christian, or a credit to his own religious society.”33
(10) Rational theology,
To Tobias Lear: “It is the nature of humanity to mourn for the loss of our friends; and the more we loved them, the more poignant is our grief. It is part of the precepts of Religion and Philosophy, to consider the Dispensations of Providence as wise, immutable, uncontroulable.”34
To Nicholas Pike: “The science of figures, to a certain degree, is not only indispensably requisite in every walk of civilised life; but the investigation of mathematical truths accustoms the mind to method and correctness in reasoning, and is an employment peculiarly worthy of rational beings. In a clouded state of existence, where so many things appear precarious to the bewildered research, it is here that the rational faculties find a firm foundation to rest upon. From the high ground of mathematical and philosophical demonstration, we are insensibly led to far nobler speculations and sublimer meditations.”35
(11) An insistence upon moderation
“It is unhappy that a matter of such high importance cannot be discussed with that candour and moderation which would throw light on the subject and place its merits in a proper point of view; but in an assembly so large as your Convention must be and composed of such various and opposite characters, it is almost impossible but that some things will occur which would rouse the passions of the most moderate man on earth.”36
(12) A mutual tolerance in matters of religion and worship
To Marquis de Lafayette: “I am not less ardent in my wish that you may succeed in your plan of toleration in religious matters. Being no bigot myself to any mode of worship, I am disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in the church, that road to Heaven, which to them shall seem the most direct plainest easiest and least liable to exception.”37
To the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island: “For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support....May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”38
(13) Doctrines of salvation affirmed
