Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I began thinking about the role of religion during that time. According to the Library of Congress (1998 Faith of Our Forefathers) “between 1700 and 1740, 75 percent to 80 percent of the population attended churches, which were being built at a headlong pace.”
In 1774, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, known in America as the Intolerable Acts, to reassert its dominance over the American colonies following the Boston Tea Party. This sparked strong colonial resistance and prompted the meeting of the First Continental Congress. Many delegates learned of the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), the first major military action between the British and the colonists, while enroute to Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress.
Religion played a major role in the American Revolution (1775 – 1783). Through the sermons, pamphlets and actions of the American clergy a moral sanction for opposition to the British was established and the average American considered the opposition to the mother country justified in the sight of God. Ministers served the American cause as military chaplains, penmen for committees of correspondence, and members of state legislatures, constitutional conventions and the national Congress. Some even took up arms, leading Continental troops in battle. But what role did religion play in creating the Declaration of Independence?
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, statesman and President of the First Continental Congress brought the Lee Resolution before the Continental Congress. Lee, among the first to advocate separation from Great Britain, denounced slavery as early as the 1750s, and even favored the vote for women who owned property. Congress debated independence for several days and then the Committee of Five: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson was given the job of drafting a formal Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was given the task of writing the document.
Thomas Jefferson drew many of his ideas from two Biblical Christians, John Locke and William Blackstone. According to the Christian Law Association (2024) “He also reflected on the work of 27 Scotch-Irish church elders in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, who drafted their own Declaration in May 1775, under the direction of Elder Ephraim.” Like the Lee Resolution, Jefferson’s draft also contained three sections: a general statement of natural rights theory and the purpose of government; a list of grievances against the British King; and the declaration of independence from England. The Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution would be added 20 years later with prohibitions against the government to prevent the same forms of tyranny as were listed as grievances.
On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from England. Congress made several changes to Jefferson’s draft, including removing references condemning slavery. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to the Revolutionary War, the independence of the United States, and the establishment of an unbelievably effective system of government. Not only the concepts but the very words of the Declaration of Independence are rooted in Christianity.
The founding fathers understood Christianity could not only stand on its own but would thrive without being written into the laws and founding documents of the country. Many of the founding fathers, including Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and Monroe, practiced a faith called Deism. According to The Founding Fathers’ Religious Wisdom article (American Progress, 2008) “Deism is a philosophical belief in human reason as a reliable means of solving social and political problems. Deists believe in a supreme being who created the universe to operate solely by natural laws—and after creation, is absent from the world.”
However, the Declaration of Independence contains four explicit references to a higher power, "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," "Creator," "Supreme Judge of the world," and "divine Providence." These references anchored American rights in a deistic or Creator-based foundation rather than a specific Christian denomination. The 56 signers came from diverse religious backgrounds, though many were Anglicans or Protestants, yet they did not include Jesus, the Bible, or other aspects of the Christian faith.
One of the most iconic religious references in the Declaration is found in its second paragraph, which proclaims that individuals are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This assertion implies that human rights are not granted by governments or rulers but are inherent and inalienable gifts bestowed by the Creator. The language suggests a belief in the divine origin and permanence of these rights, grounding them in a higher moral order.
Eileen M Brogan