He wrote to Gov. Wm. Livingston from Head Quarters in Morristown, on February 22, 1777:
No person, I hope, can be so lost to Virtue, as to except against Colo. Newcombe on Account of his being religiously disposed. The relaxed Discipline and want of Order in the Regiment, I believe were among the principle objections to him; these added to his Inactivity and that want of Confidence mentioned in a former Letter, obliged me to displace him.98
Apparently, Col. Newcombe (no known relation to the coauthor of this book) was lax in his military duties, but defended himself by claiming that he was being criticized because of his religion.
Examples of a strict and exact obedience:
We can see this use in his commitment to free his slaves. Washington begins his last will and testament with the classic words, “In the name of God, amen.” He later declares:
And I do moreover most pointedly, and most solemnly enjoin it upon my Executors hereafter named, or the Survivors of them, to see that this [cl]ause respecting Slaves, and every part thereof be religiously fulfilled at the Epoch at which it is directed to take place; without evasion, neglect or delay.99
He absolutely wanted to make sure this was carried out.
General Orders from Head Quarters in Newburgh on Thursday, November 14th, 1782 declare:
Congress having been pleased to set a part Thursday the 28th. instant as a day of Solemn thanksgiving to [G]od for all his Mercies, The General desires it may be most religiously observed by the army; and that the Chaplains will prepare discourses suitable to the occasion.100
Several other examples of this can be observed.101
Examples of the complete truthfulness of a claim:
To Patrick Henry he writes from Mount Vernon on October 9, 1795:
I persuade myself, Sir, it has not escaped your observation, that a crisis is approaching that must if it cannot be arrested soon decide whether order and good government shall be preserved or anarchy and confusion ensue. I can most religiously aver I have no wish, that is incompatible with the dignity, happiness and true interest of the people of this country.102
To Edmund Pendleton he writes from Philadelphia on January 22, 1795:
A month from this day, if I live to see the completion of it, will place me on the wrong (perhaps it would be better to say, on the advanced) side of my grand climacteric; and altho’ I have no cause to complain of the want of health, I can religiously aver that no man was ever more tired of public life, or more devoutly wished. for retirement, than I do.103
Examples of a deep faith in something include:
In a Circular Letter from Head Quarters, near Passaic Falls on October 18, 1780, he writes,
I am religiously persuaded that the duration of the War and the greatest part of the misfortunes and perplexities we have hitherto experienced, are chiefly to be attributed to the System of temporary enlistments.104
And we could go on and on. We still use the same word in the same way today. For instance, when we say that someone “works out” religiously.
But there’s a deeper meaning. George Washington thought of religion as a positive force in society. He was not like the French skeptic, Diderot, who looked for the dawning of the new age when the last king on earth would be strangled with the entrails of the last priest on earth. It was views like those of Diderot and fellow traveler Voltaire that inspired the bloody French Revolution. While Thomas Jefferson may have applauded that revolution to some degree, George Washington certainly did not. This parallels what we saw earlier in regard to Washington’s statement on his piety and pious and devout wishes and prayers.
WASHINGTON’S COMMITMENT TO RELIGION
There are several examples from Washington’s writings where his own personal commitment to religion is evident. As a young officer in the French and Indian War, he declared his interest in religion, as he pleaded for a chaplain for his troops.
The last Assembly, in their Supply Bill, provided for a chaplain to our regiment, for whom I had often very unsuccessfully applied to Governor Dinwiddie. I now flatter myself, that your Honor will be pleased to appoint a sober, serious man for this duty. Common decency, Sir, in a camp calls for the services of a divine, and which ought not to be dispensed with, altho’ the world should be so uncharitable as to think us void of religion, and incapable of good instructions.105
While polite society is often reminded never to discuss religion and politics, Washington compares the two in terms of his view of their each being composed only a few simple tenets:
I have no inclination to touch, much less to dilate on politics. For in politics, as in religion my tenets are few and simple: the leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves, and to exact it from others; medling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved.106
The purpose of our book is to establish with precision from Washington’s writings what his “few and simple” religious tenets were. From what we have learned so far, and what he wrote to the Methodist bishops, it is clear these tenets enabled him to promise, “I shall always strive to prove a faithful and impartial Patron of genuine, vital religion.”107 Such a view of religion, in Washington’s mind at least, was consistent with the inherent faith in God that he believed was evident from the very beginning of America.
Washington’s vital religion evoked strong words about gratitude to God and its opposite. Here’s what he wrote to Reverend Samuel Langdon on September 28, 1789:
The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf. And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored.108
RELIGIOUS DISPUTES
Washington addresses the reality of differing religious sentiments as he considers various plans for chaplains in the army. He promoted chaplains to the army, and he addressed a key argument against chaplains that they may introduce debates over religion:
Among many other weighty objections to the Measure, It has been suggested, that it has a tendency to introduce religious disputes into the Army, which above all things should be avoided, and in many instances would compel men to a mode of Worship which they do not profess. The old Establishment gives every Regiment an Opportunity of having a Chaplain of their own religious Sentiments, it is founded on a plan of a more generous toleration, and the choice of the Chaplains to officiate, has been generally in the Regiments.109
His recognition of this issue appears in another letter written to a friend in Europe years later.
I was sorry to see the gloomy picture which you drew of the affairs of your Country in your letter of December; but I hope events have not turned out so badly as you then apprehended. Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes, that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far, that we should never again see their religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of Society.110
He saw that America could help lead the way in showing the world how Christians of all stripes could get along with each other. When he left the White House, he received a thank you letter from several leading clergymen of Philadelphia in gratitude for his half-century of service to America. He wrote back on March 3, 1797. Note how he envisions religion playing a key role to American life:
Believing, as I do, that Religion and Morality are the essential pillars of civil society, I view, with unspeakable pleasure, that harmony and brotherly love which characterizes the Clergy of different denominations, as well in this, as in other parts of the United States; exhibiting to the world a new and interesting spectacle, at once the pride of our country and the surest basis of Universal Harmony.111
He not only believed in Christianity undergirding the morals of the American people, he looked forward to the idea of American Christians showing how believers could work together in love. For the most part, his vision has been fulfilled.
He included Jews in that vision. And America has not persecuted Jews. In fact, she has proven to be a haven for this persecuted people. Washington wrote to the Hebrew congregations of Philadelphia, New York, Charleston and Richmond (December 1790):
Gentlemen: The liberal sentiment towards each other which marks every political and religious denomination of men in this country stands unrivalled in the history of nations. The affection of such people is a treasure beyond the reach of calculation; and the repeated proofs which my fellow citizens have given of their attachment to me, and approbation of my doings form the purest source of my temporal felicity. The affectionate expressions of your address again excite my gratitude, and receive my warmest acknowledgements.112
As Washington saw it, America was to be an asylum for those suffering religious persecution. And that is precisely what she became.
CONCLUSION
