George Washington and his Religious Beliefs

Washington is one of the most interesting individuals in regards to his religion for three reasons:

1. He never wrote much about his personal beliefs. 2. His actions frequently veered left of orthodoxy. 3. His early biographers (and even recent ones) seem to have a vested interested in making him into something without ample evidence.

Here are some generalizations with which I feel confident:

1. We can pretty much toss out the rumor that he converted to Catholicism. That rumor is weak. Most authors don't even discuss it, and the animosity towards the RCC of the founding fathers is so striking from both Calvinists and Anglicans alike that the idea now seems untterly inconceivable to me. It's not really an active topic among historians.

2. He was Episcopalian and never strayed from that in terms of church attendance which was fairly regular. He was active in prayer, both in the war and after it.

Here's where it gets interesting.

3. Unlike most of the founding fathers and their letters, we have no idea on how he felt about the following: the virgin birth, the divinity of Christ, the resurrection, or the miracles.

Why not presume he feels like every other Protestant? Here's why.

4. He was never confirmed, and he avoided communion – two actions that would be considered unusual for someone of his age and stature attending Anglican churches. Both confirmation and communion would have been expected from an orthodox Anglican believer. William White, Washington’s bishop and pastor, answered an inquiry about Washington by stating, “Truth requires me to say that General Washington never received communion…” and was to known to even avoid church on those Sundays when communion was given. For Deists, communion and confirmation was superstition.

5. Washington also used Deist vocabulary in his speeches, and when his speech-writer would write the word “God”, Washington would substitute “Great Spirit,” “Grand Architect” or some other Deist-like words. He almost never was known to refer to Jesus or Christianity in general. This may seem trivial, but it's actually not. Orthodox Christians almost never used words like "Great Architect" which was often used in Freemasonry.

6. Washington was an active Freemason. Freemasonry at the time was closely allied with Deists. It was an order very much interested in religious toleration, religious liberties, and less emphasis on the divinity of Jesus and more interest in the common denominators of all religions. He became a Grand Master, and this documentation is generally not disputed.

7. On his deathbed, Washington never asked for an Episcopal clergyman. His last words, “tis well” suggest little. He died peacefully and was buried after Episcopal and Masonic funeral services.

Much of the evangelical spin was created by Washington's first biographer, Parson Weems in 1800 a year after Washington's death. Weems is also the creator of the cherry tree story - which has been debunked by nearly all the historians and was based on heresay.

Weems biography was very popular and remained so through much of the 19th-century. For whatever reason, Washington's religion was seen by some as something to "keep alive" and much of the interest continues today. A recent book called "Washington's God" seem to be guilty just a bit of the same things.

Because so little is known about the particulars of his understanding of the Bible (unlike Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin), we are left with a mixed understanding of George Washington, the man.

It's probably best to say Washington was Chritian-friendly Deist, or a Deist-friendly Christian. Either way it leaves open the possibility of a president with an unusal understanding of Christianity.