Welcome to Outlaw Faith — and welcome to a reality check.
If you grew up in public school, there’s a 97% chance you were told the Founders were a bunch of enlightened deists who wanted religion and politics separated like bad prom dates. If you took a college class on American history, they probably doubled down and told you the Founders wanted a “neutral” public square — where faith stayed inside your house like a drunk uncle nobody talks about.
That’s garbage. And I can prove it.
Meet the Founders — in Their Own Words
John Adams (you know, second president, helped write the Declaration) — the guy flat-out said:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
That’s not some random diary entry — that’s his public warning in 1798. Translation? Freedom only works if the people govern themselves — and self-government doesn’t work without morality and faith.
George Washington — the first president, the GOAT general — left this gem in his Farewell Address:
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
Indispensable — as in, you cannot have a free country without them. Skip church if you want, but don’t pretend Washington would’ve been cool with faithless freedom.
Benjamin Franklin — everybody’s favorite wisecracking genius, supposedly the least religious of the bunch. Even he said this at the Constitutional Convention:
“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men.”
He even called for daily prayer in the middle of the Constitutional Convention because things were falling apart.
Thomas Jefferson — the dude people love to call a secularist — told the Virginia Assembly:
“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis — a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”
That’s Jefferson, folks. Not exactly the “keep your Bible off my Constitution” guy they told you about.
What They Believed vs. What You Were Taught
| Textbook Myth | Actual Quote from a Founder |
|---|---|
| “The Founders wanted religion private.” | “Morality and religion are indispensable supports.” — Washington |
| “They were all deists.” | “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right…to knowledge of the characters and conduct of their rulers.” — Adams (and yes, he included religious character in that) |
| “Separation of church and state means keep God out of government.” | “God governs in the affairs of men.” — Franklin |
What This Means in 2025
The Founders knew something we forgot: If people won’t govern themselves morally under God, government will step in and do it for them — badly.
That’s exactly where we are now:
- Cameras on every corner because people can’t be trusted to behave.
- Schools teaching kids they’re animals because we erased the Creator.
- Courts rewriting basic truths about biology because truth is now “personal.”
The Founders wouldn’t be shocked — they warned us this would happen if we abandoned faith.
Let’s Talk Jefferson — The Most Misquoted Man in America
They love to quote Jefferson’s “wall of separation” letter, but they cut out the part where he literally thanks God for the rights we have. The man who supposedly wanted God out of government put religious freedom into Virginia’s law himself. He didn’t want a state church — but he absolutely wanted faith shaping public life.
Jefferson knew — no God, no freedom. Period.
The Bible Backs It Up Too
The Founders didn’t invent this idea — they got it from Scripture:
- Psalm 33:12 — “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
- Proverbs 14:34 — “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:17 — “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
The pattern is clear:
God > Morality > Self-Governance > Freedom.
You can’t skip step one and expect the rest to work.
So What Do We Do With This?
First — stop apologizing for mixing faith and politics. The Founders did it first.
Second — reclaim the truth. Next time someone says, “Separation of church and state!” hit them with actual history — and maybe a laminated quote card for fun.
Third — live it. Faith isn’t just a private comfort — it’s the public foundation that makes freedom possible.
Tomorrow: Separation of Church and State — What It Actually Means (Spoiler: Not What You Think)
Questions? Comments? Angry emails from your old civics teacher? Drop them below.
