Religious Affiliation of U.S. Presidents
February 18, 2008
Did you know that Dwight D. Eisenhower was raised Jehovah’s Witness? While he did not stay with the JWs (he was to become Presbyterian), do you think his JW background, and his mother’s continued adherence to the JWs, had any influence upon his political views?
This President’s Day (understanding how the day is slowly becoming one which honors all Presidents, and not just Washington and Lincoln), take a look at the various religious affiliations the Presidents have had, as recorded over here.
Which President do you think was most influenced by their religious affiliation? Which do you think was least? And what, if anything, do you think we can make out of the kinds of affiliations our Presidents have had?
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16 Comments
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Well, I don’t think that the pacifist teachings of the Quakers had much effect on Richard Nixon. As I recall, he was also perfectly happy with taking the oath of office, whereas Herbert Hoover, the other Quaker president, merely “affirmed” that he would uphold the Constitution, etc. I’m not saying that he was the least religious president, necessarily, just that his public policies seemed to be the most at odds with his professed faith.
Bill Clinton was definitely the most religious President. He had the biggest Bible.
Woodrow Wilson
Barack Hussein Obama will be by far. He’s likely influenced by his early Muslim upbringing but now is a member of a radical black Christian sect.
Barack’s Current Church
God Bless,
Matt
“Presidents Day” is not the legal name of the holiday – rather, it is a marketing term that arose (IIRC in the car dealership industry) around 1970ish when Washington’s Birthday was moved closer to Lincoln’s Birthday (which, in states like NY, was a big state holiday in those days) to have an extended period of sales, et cet.
In the US code and all state codes that I am aware of, the holiday is still by law “Washington’s Birthday”. He alone of the presidents is honored with a national holiday. Spread the word.
Matt McDonald seems to derive his information from the know-nothing far-right talk radio. Obama is Christian and has always been Christian. I find it interesting that people haev problems with Obama’s Protestant church, and yet seem comfortable with the Protestantism of the evangelical right, a Protestantism infected by derivative Calvinism, Gnosticism, Manicheanism and Dispensationalism.
Since Eisenhower wasn’t barking mad, there apparently was little influence. Seriously though, as a Jehovah’s Witness he would not have been allowed to
a) vote
b) run for office
c) serve in the military
Heck, he wouldn’t even have been allowed to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Liam
While the day is not officially known as President’s Day, the day has become known, publically, as such. This again is an indication of the way the holiday is being developed, and I think it is just. In a sense, all Presidents are of the “See of Washington.”
Henry
I resist and encourage others to resist, in the name of republicanism (lower case (r)). I think it far from just: there are plenty of presidents who are unworthy of public celebration (Buchanan, Pierce, A. Johnson, et cet.) for their presidencies, and I do not celebrate them. At least the origin of the “Presidents Day” slang was intended originallly to refer only to Washington and Lincoln (and the latter is the reason it was never adopted as law by Congress – there is no way Lincoln would be honored with a national holilday in this country – I think even still there would be strong objections in some quarters, not all of them obvious).
Celebrate Washington’s Birthday by remembering the finer attributes of his character and actions, reflecting on the compromises he made, the consequences of both for the development of the future glory and shadows of our republic – and, most importantly, eat the traditional food of the holiday (in case one is too young to know there is such a thing: cherry pie).
Anyway, to answer the question you put in your post, I would venture the following:
Herbert Hoover.
His Quakerism explains much about him: his entrepreunerial approach, his belief in the individual’s ability to reason, his humanitarinism, and his skepticism about government displacing the role of private individuals and institutions, et cet.
Morning’s Minion,
Matt McDonald seems to derive his information from the know-nothing far-right talk radio. Obama is Christian and has always been Christian. I find it interesting that people haev problems with Obama’s Protestant church, and yet seem comfortable with the Protestantism of the evangelical right, a Protestantism infected by derivative Calvinism, Gnosticism, Manicheanism and Dispensationalism.
Typical tripe from the likes of you. Are you denying that in early childhood, Barack was schooled as a muslim? Did you dissagree that his church is of a Christian black radical genre? They recently gave an award to black racist Louis Farrakan.
At least “Protestantism infected by derivative Calvinism, Gnosticism, Manicheanism and Dispensationalism” recognizes the sanctity of human life and rejects the idea of murdering unborn and born babies to avoid inconvenience to the mother.
I think maybe you have so much education that your common judgement is clowded.
God Bless,
Matt
See Snopes about this ongoing drivel as espoused by Matt:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
Jimmy Mac ,
See Snopes about this ongoing drivel as espoused by Matt:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
You’re misrepresenting my point, I’m not saying Obama is muslim, he has long been associated with this racist Christian denomination, it is a fact that as a child he went to a muslim school and was educated as a muslim. He has made it clear that this early upbringing influences him and uses it as a selling point when dealing with the Islamic world.
God Bless,
Matt
Senator Obama was also educated in a Catholic school. Ought we to worry that he might have been influenced by the Church, too?
nathan,
well nobody is all bad… frankly his penchant for the murder of the unborn or the very recently born but undesirable is evidence that it didn’t take. Sadly, a Catholic education has ruined many a good Catholic, so there really wasn’t much hope for him anyway.
God Bless,
Matt
Touché.