It has been said
by many that the
Declaration of
Independence is
America’s great
religious document.
Although it holds
no official place in
our laws or form of
government today,
we honor its firm
foundation based on
human freedom –
God’s gift to man.
One hundred-and-fifty years later,
the 13 American colonies were firmly
established. The 2.5 million people – all
subjects of the Crown – wanted nothing
more than to be accorded the same rights
and freedoms granted to their fellow
countrymen in England under the Magna
Carta of 1215 and the English Bill of
Rights of 1689.
Initially, they were not seeking
independence! Yet, as history records,
for more than a decade after the French
and Indian War which ended in 1763, the
colonists were progressively subjected to
unfair proclamations, taxation without
representation, and other intolerable acts
designed to extract much-needed revenue
for Great Britain’s depleted war treasury,
and to bring them under obedience to
King George III and Parliament. Again
and again, they petitioned the King and
Parliament “in the most humble terms” and
appealed to their British Brethren “for Justice,” but to no avail. A declaration of
independence became a distinct possibility. And the need to call upon a higher
power was sorely felt.
Our founding fathers – delegates to the Continental Congress - were men of
great religious faith, representing most of the known Christian denominations of
the day. The delegation included Unitarians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians,
Presbyterians, Quakers, Anglicans, and one Roman Catholic. There were even
several Deists, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who believed in
a Supreme Creator, but accepted no particular divine revelation.
Although these men represented differing views of God, they acknowledged
His presence as they came together in common cause and mutual protection.
These 56 delegates were from very divergent colonial interests and personal
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