God and the Founders: Madison, Washington, and Jefferson

254 Pages·2009·1.04 MB·English

by  Vincent Phillip Munoz

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God and the Founders
Madison, Washington, and Jefferson
DidtheFoundingFathersintendtobuilda‘‘wallofseparation’’between
churchandstate? Arepublicdisplays oftheTenCommandments orthe
phrase ‘‘under God’’ in the Pledge of Allegiance consistent with the
Founders’understandingsofreligiousfreedom?InGodandtheFounders,
Dr. Vincent Phillip Mun˜oz answers these questions by providing new,
comprehensive interpretations of James Madison, George Washington,
and Thomas Jefferson. By analyzing Madison’s, Washington’s, and Jef-
ferson’spublicdocuments,privatewritings,andpoliticalactions,Mun˜oz
explains the Founders’ competing church-state political philosophies.
Mun˜oz explores how Madison, Washington, and Jefferson agreed and
disagreed by showing howtheir different principles of religious freedom
woulddecidetheSupremeCourt’smostimportantFirstAmendmentreli-
gioncases.GodandtheFoundersanswersthequestion,‘‘Whatwouldthe
Founders do?’’ for the most pressing church-state issues of our time,
including prayer in public schools, government support of religion, and
legalburdensonindividuals’religiousconsciences.
Dr. Vincent Phillip Mun˜oz is the Tocqueville Associate Professor of
Religion and Public Life in the Department of Political Science at the
University of Notre Dame. He has held appointments at Princeton
University,TuftsUniversity,SeattleUniversitySchoolofLaw,andNorth
CarolinaStateUniversity.

God and the Founders
Madison, Washington, and Jefferson
VINCENT PHILLIP MUN˜ OZ
UniversityofNotreDame
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521515153
© Vincent Phillip Munoz 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-59548-6 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-51515-3 Hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-73579-7 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
For my parents
Vicente Serapio Mun˜oz, Jr., and
Mary Emma Mun˜oz
Imustadmitmoreoverthatitmaynotbeeasy,ineverypossiblecase,
to trace the line of separation between the rights of religion and the
Civilauthoritywithsuchdistinctnessastoavoidcollisions&doubts
onunessential points.
JamesMadison to Rev.JasperAdams, 1833
Contents
Acknowledgments page ix
Introduction: The Founders, Religious Freedom,and the
FirstAmendment’s Religion Clauses 1
part i: the founders’ church-state political
philosophies
1 JamesMadison’sPrincipleof State Noncognizance
ofReligion 11
2 GeorgeWashington onChurch andState: Religion and
theCivicGood 49
3 ThomasJefferson’sNatural Rights Philosophy and
Anticlerical Politics ofReligious Liberty 70
part ii: the founders and the first amendment
religion clauses
4 Madison’s, Washington’s, and Jefferson’sChurch-State
Doctrines 119
5 Madison,Washington, Jefferson,and the Establishment
Clause 127
6 Madison,Washington, Jefferson,and the FreeExercise
Clause 166
7 TheFounders v.the Supreme Court 196
Conclusion: TheFounders andChurch-State Jurisprudence 206
vii
viii Contents
Appendix A: ‘‘Memorial andRemonstrance againstReligious
Assessments’’ by JamesMadison,1785 223
Appendix B: ABill ‘‘Establishing aProvisionfor Teachers of
theChristian Religion’’ by Patrick Henry,1784 229
Appendix C: ABill for Establishing Religious Freedom in
Virginia byThomasJefferson, 1777 231
Index 235