Religious affiliations of United States Presidents

The religious affiliations of Presidents of the United States can affect their electability, shape their visions of society and how they want to lead it, and shape their stances on policy matters. Thomas Jefferson, [cite web
url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=BMzIavSRNdEC&pg=PA83&dq=%22thomas+jefferson%22+infidel&sig=ACfU3U3wVyDaXJN26xBcJxgwLFYmVGL1tg#PPA83,M1
title=The Religious Life of Thomas Jeffersoncite book
title=The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson
first=Charles B.
last=Sanford
publsiher=University of Virginia Press
year=1984
isbn=0813911311
isbn13=9780813911311
pages=246 pages]
Abraham Lincoln, [cite news|url=http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/lincoln9911.html|title=Book lays out story of Lincoln' complex beliefs |author=Richard N. Ostling |work=Associated Press|accessdate=2007-05-26] [Lincoln never denied the accusation, see cite web|url=http://www.humanismbyjoe.com/Lincoln's_religion.htm |title=Abraham Lincoln's Humanistic Religious Beliefs |accessdate=2007-05-26] , and even Taft were accused of being infidels during election campaigns—and at other times.

Throughout much of American history, the religion of past American presidents has been the subject of contentious debate. Some devout Americans have been disinclined to believe that there may have been agnostic or even non-Christian presidents, especially amongst the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a result, apocryphal stories of a religious nature have appeared over the years about particularly beloved presidents such as Washington and Lincoln. On the other hand, secular-minded Americans have sometimes downplayed the prominence that religion played in the private and political lives of the Founding Fathers.

The vast majority of the presidents can be characterized as Christians, at least by formal membership. Some were Unitarian, or Quaker, or unaffiliated with a specific religious body. Some are thought have have been deists, or irreligious. No president thus far has been a Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Hindu, or an adherent of any other specifically non-Christian religion.

Formal affiliation

A substantial majority of presidents have been formal members of a particular church or religious body, and a specific affiliation can be assigned to every president from Garfield on. For many earlier presidents, however, formal church membership was forestalled until they left office; and in several cases a president never joined any church. Conversely, though every president from Washington to John Quincy Adams can be definitely assigned membership in an Anglican or Unitarian body, the significance of these affiliations is frequently downplayed as being unrepresentative of their true beliefs.

The pattern of religious adherence has changed dramatically over the course of United States history, and thus the pattern of presidential affiliations is quite unrepresentative of modern membership numbers. For example, Episcopalians are extraordinarily well represented among the presidents, compared to a current membership of about 2% of the population. This is in part because the Episcopal Church had been the Church of England prior to the American Revolution, and was the state religion in some states (such as New York and Virginia [ [http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/religion/religionhdr.cfm Colonial Williamsburg website] has 4 articles on religion in colonial Virginia] ). The first seven presidents listed as Episcopalians were all from Virginia. Unitarians and Quakers are also overrepresented, reflecting their importance as colonial churches. Conversely, Baptists are underrepresented, a reflection of their quite recent expansion in numbers; and with the exception of Kennedy, Catholics are entirely absent, though they are the single largest body in modern times.

While many presidents did not formally join a church until quite late in life, there is a genre of tales of deathbed conversions. By and large these are held by biographers to be dubious, though the baptism of Polk is well-documented.

Personal beliefs

Many people are interested not only in the religious affiliations of the presidents, but also in their inner beliefs. This is of course much more difficult to establish than church membership, and while some presidents have been relatively voluble about religion, many have been reticent to the point of complete obscurity. Some presidents, such as Monroe, were extremely reluctant to discuss their own religious views at all. In some cases attempts have been made to draw conclusions from patterns of churchgoing or religious references in political speeches. Nonetheless, it is difficult to assess whether the presidents in question were irreligious, unorthodox in their beliefs, or simply believed that religion was not a matter for public revelation.

On the other hand, there are a number of presidents who considered themselves aligned with a particular church, but who withheld themselves from formal affiliation for a time. Buchanan, for instance, held himself allied with the Presbyterian church, but refrained from joining it until he left office.

Naturally, some presidents changed their beliefs and affiliation at some point in their lives; a synthesis of statements and membership from different periods may be misleading.

Deism and the founding fathers

Deism was a religious philosophy in common currency in colonial times, and some founding fathers (most notably Thomas Paine, who was an explicit exponent of it) are identified more or less with this system. As it was not a church "per se", no president can be said to be "formally" affiliated with it. Nevertheless a number of early presidents, all nominally Episcopalian/Anglican, are often identified as holding deist tenets, as is Lincoln. These identifications remain a matter of controversy since, with the exception of Jefferson and Lincoln, personal statements of religious belief are largely lacking.

Unitarianism and non-Trinitarian religion

Four presidents are positively affiliated with Unitarian churches, and a fifth (Jefferson) was an exponent of ideas now commonly associated with Unitarianism. Unitarians by definition fall outside of Trinitarian Christianity, and the question arises as to the degree to which the presidents themselves held Christian precepts. In this case the information is generally available in the statements of the presidents themselves; for example, in the case of John Quincy Adams, he left statements documenting his beliefs in some detail, showing that he distanced himself from the branch of his church then associated with Joseph Priestley.Vague|date=October 2008|relevance? -- seems to imply that opposiiton to Priestley (in itself) implies being "more Christian"

Two presidents were Quakers, and for them information is harder to come by. Quakerism is, by its nature, not circumscribed by doctrines, but even so it is hard to determine whether either Hoover or Nixon had much adherence even to Quaker practice. For instance, it is common among Quakers to refuse to swear oaths; however, recordings show that Nixon did swear the oath of office in the conventional manner in all cases, and while the matter is clouded for Hoover, there is newspaper and circumstantial evidence that he did likewise.

The only other president with any association with a definitely non-Trinitarian body is Eisenhower, whose parents moved from the River Brethren to the antecedents of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Eisenhower himself was baptized shortly after assuming the presidency, the only president thus far to undergo such a rite while in office; and his attendance at West Point was in sharp opposition to the pacifist tenets of the groups to which his parents belonged.

Civic religion

St. John's Episcopal Church, just across Lafayette Square north of the White House, and built after the War of 1812, is the church closest to the White House, and its services have been attended at least once by nearly every president since James Madison. Presidential proclamations, from the earliest days, have often been laden with religious if not explicitly Christian language. In at least two cases presidents saw fit to issue denials that they were atheists. At the same time, this was tempered, especially in early years, by a strong commitment to disestablishment. Several presidents particularly stand out as exponents of this. Consideration of this has become increasingly contentious as topics such as civil rights and sexuality have increasingly put churches at odds with each other and with the government.

tudies of presidential religion

Presidential biographers have often been brought to consider the issue of presidential religion, and in the case of certain key figures (particularly Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln) considerable attention has been devoted to the subject.

Some researchers have produced general surveys of presidential religion. A recent example is "The Faiths of the Founding Fathers" by David L. Holmes (New York, Oxford University Press USA, 2006), which examines the views of some early presidents as well as other political figures of the period. A more general survey, "The Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents: From Washington to F.D.R." by Franklin Steiner (original publication: Girard, KS.: Haldeman-Julius publications, 1936; reprinted: Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995), is frequently referenced on-line. Little information on Steiner is available, but a broadside for a lecture given by him identifies him as "National Sec'y Rationalist Association" (presumably the American Rationalist Association, which published his "Religious Treason in the American Republic" c. 1927). [broadside as advertised on Antiqbook.com: cite web
url = http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/bibman/55703.shtml
title = Rationalist Lecture. Dr. Franklin Steiner ... Speaks at Italian Federation Hall, 4th and Madison, Opposite City Hall ... Subject: "Shall the Clergy or the Constitution of the United States Rule This Country?" |accessdate=2008-04-28 Publication data of Steiner's books were verified through the Library of Congress catalog.]

The Adherents.com website maintains a list of presidential affiliations, with subpages for each president.cite web|title=Religious Affiliation of U.S. Presidents |url=http://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html|publisher=adherents.com|accessdate=2007-05-26] Most of these subpages refer to a site by one Peter Roberts, which has links and some more detailed information on the religion of the presidents, vice presidents, and founding fathers.see cite web
url = http://www.geocities.com/peterroberts.geo/Relig-Politics/USRelig.html
title = God and Country - Religion and Politics in the US
accessdate = 2008-05-01 ]

List of Presidential religious affiliations/beliefs (by President)

For each president, the formal affiliation at the time of his presidency is listed first. Qualifiers are added where this affiliation is in some respect misleading or oversimplified, as with the many deists who were nominally Anglican. Further explanation follows if needed, as well as notable detail.

# George Washington ndash Episcopalian/(some say Deist)cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pw/George_Washington.html|title=The Religion of George Washington|publisher=adherents.com|accessdate=2008-09-19]
#:"Main article: George Washington and religion
#*There is considerable debate over the extent to which he was a believer in Christianity, and the extent to which his beliefs were deistic.
# John Adamsndash Unitariancite web|title=Religious Affiliation of U.S. Presidents |url=http://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html|publisher=adherents.com|accessdate=2007-06-08]
#* The Adamses were originally members of Congregational churches in New England. By 1800, all but one Congregationalist church in Boston had Unitarian preachers teaching the strict unity of God, the subordinate nature of Christ, and salvation by character. Adams himself preferred Unitarian preachers, but he was opposed to Joseph Priestley's sympathies with the French Revolution, and would attend other churches if the only nearby Congregational/Unitarian one was composed of followers of Priestley. [cite web|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|title=John Adams|url=http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/johnadams.html|accessdate=2007-04-22]
# Thomas Jeffersonndash Episcopalian, Deist
#*Jefferson's views are considered very close to Unitarian. The " [http://www.famousuus.com/ Famous UUs] " website [cite web|url=http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/thomasjefferson.html|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|title=Thomas Jefferson|accessdate=2007-05-26] says:
#*:"Like many others of his time (he died just one year after the founding of institutional Unitarianism in America), Jefferson was a Unitarian in theology, though not in church membership. He never joined a Unitarian congregation: there were none near his home in Virginia during his lifetime. He regularly attended Joseph Priestley's Pennsylvania church when he was nearby, and said that Priestley's theology was his own, and there is no doubt Priestley should be identified as Unitarian. Jefferson remained a member of the Episcopal congregation near his home, but removed himself from those available to become godparents, because he was not sufficiently in agreement with the Trinitarian theology. His work, the Jefferson Bible, was Unitarian in theology..."
#*See for many relevant quotes.
# James Madisonndash Deistcite web|title=James Madison and the Social Utility of Religion: Risks vs. Rewards|publisher=Library of Congress|url=http://www.loc.gov/loc/madison/hutson-paper.html|author=James Hutson|accessdate=2007-05-26] /Episcopalian
#* Although Madison tried to keep a low profile in regards to religion, he seemed to hold religious opinions, like many of his contemporaries, that were closer to deism or Unitarianism in theology than conventional Christianity. He was raised in the Church of England and attended Episcopal services, despite his personal disputes with the theology.
# James Monroendash Episcopalian/Deist?
#* Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia, and as an adult attended Episcopal churches.
#* "When it comes to Monroe's ...thoughts on religion", Bliss Isely comments in his "The Presidents: Men of Faith", "less is known than that of any other President." Monroe burned much of his correspondence with his wife, and no letters survive in which he discusses his religious beliefs; nor did his friends, family or associates write about his beliefs. Letters that do survive, such as ones written on the occasion of the death of his son, contain no discussion of religion. Franklin Steiner categorized Monroe among "Presidents Whose Religious Views Are Doubtful".cite web
url=http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/franklin_steiner/presidents.html
title=The Religious Beliefs Of Our Presidents
accessdate=2007-12-11 cite book
title=The Religious Beliefs Of Our Presidents: From Washington to F. D. R.
first=Franklin
last=Steiner
date=July 1995
length=190pp
series=Freethought Library
format=Paperback,190pp
publisher=Prometheus Books
location=NY
month=July |year=1995
isbn=0879759755
isbn-13=9780879759759
origyear=1936]
#* Some sources classify Monroe as a deist.cite journal|title=The Religion of James Monroe|author=David Holmes|url=http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2003/autumn/holmes-religion-james-monroe/|journal=Virginia Quarterly Review|date=Autumn 2003|accessdate=2007-05-26]
# John Quincy Adamsndash Unitariancite web
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
title = American President: John Quincy Adams: Family Life
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jqadams/essays/biography/7
accessdate = 2008-04-16 ]
#*Adams's religious views shifted over the course of his life. In college and early adulthood he preferred trinitarian theology, and from 1818 to 1848 he served as vice president of the American Bible Society.cite web|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|title=John Quincy Adams|url=http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/johnquincyadams.html |accessdate=2008-04-16] However as he grew older his views became more typically Unitarian, though he rejected the more rationalist views of Joseph Priestley and the Transcendentalists.
#*He was a founding member of the First Unitarian Church of Washington (D.C.). However he regularly attended Presbyterian and Episcopal services as well.
#*Towards the end of his life, he wrote, "I reverence God as my creator. As creator of the world. I reverence him with holy fear. I venerate Jesus Christ as my redeemer; and, as far as I can understand, the redeemer of the world. But this belief is dark and dubious."
# Andrew Jacksonndash Presbyterian
#* He became a member of the Presbyterian Church about a year after retiring the presidency
# Martin Van Burenndash Dutch Reformedcite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/vanburen
title = American President: Martin Van Buren
publisher = University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs
accessdate = 2008-10-08]
#*Van Buren is reported to have attended the Dutch Reformed church in his home town of Kinderhook, New York [cite web
url=http://www.kinderhookconnection.com/history4.htm
title=Martin Van Buren
publisher=Kinderhook Connection
accessdate=2008-10-08] , and while in Washington, services at St. John's Lafayette Square [cite web
url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/blotter/chi-presidents-photogallery,0,6466822.photogallery?index=chi080213vanburen_image
title=Presidential portraits: Martin Van Buren
publisher="Chicago Tribune"
accessdate=2008-10-08] . However, according to Steiner there is little evidence that he ever formally joined a church. Steiner states that the sole original source to claim that he did join a churchndash in Hudson, New Yorkndash is Vernon B. Hampton, in "Religious Background of the White House" (Boston: Christopher Publishing House, 1932), the basis of which Steiner was unable to verify.
#* His funeral was held at the Reformed Dutch Church in Kinderhook with burial in a family plot at the nearby church cemetery [FindAGrave site http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1054]
#*Steiner lists Van Buren among those "presidents whose religious views are doubtful".
# William Henry Harrisonndash Episcopaliancite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/harrison
title = American President: William Henry Harrison
publisher = University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs
accessdate = 2008-04-09]
#*Harrison was a vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, Ohio after resigning his military commission in 1814. [cite web
url = http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0194730-00 |title=The American Presidency: Harrison, William Henry
Publisher = Encyclopedia Americana
accessdate = 2008-04-09]
#* Harrison died just one month after his inauguration. At Harrison's funeral, the rector at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. said Harrison had bought a Bible one day after his inauguration and had planned to become a communicant. Steiner inferred from this account that Harrison had not been a member of any church.Episcopaliancite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/tyler
title = American President: John Tyler
publisher = University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs
accessdate = 2008-04-22]
#* Franklin Steiner categorized Tyler among "Presidents Whose Religious Views Are Doubtful". Although affiliated with the Episcopal church, he did not take "a denominational approach to God." [cite book
title= and Tyler too: A Biography of John and Julia Gardiner Tyler
last= Seager II
first= Robert
year= 1963
publisher= McGraw-Hill
pages= 109] Tyler was a strong supporter of religious tolerance and separation of church and state.
# James K. Polkndash Methodistcite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/polk/essays/biography/7
title = American President: James Knox Polk: Family Life
publisher = University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs
accessdate = 2008-04-09]
#*Polk came from a Presbyterian upbringing but was not baptized as a child, due to a dispute with the local Presbyterian minister in rural North Carolina. Polk's father and grandfather were Deists, and the minister refused to baptize James unless his father affirmed Christianity, which he would not do. [ [http://www.adherents.com/people/pp/James_Polk.html Adherents:James Polk] ] [cite book |url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/James-K-Polk/John-Siegenthaler/e/9780805069426 |first=John |last=Seigenthaler |publisher=Times Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-805-06942-9] Polk had a conversion experience at a Methodist camp meeting when he was thirty-eight, and thereafter considered himself Methodist. Nevertheless he continued to attend Presbyterian services with his wife, though he went to the local Methodist chapel when she was ill or out of town. On his deathbed, he summoned the Rev. John B. McFerrin, who had converted him years before, to baptize him.
# Zachary Taylorndash nominally Episcopaliancite web
url = http://www.adherents.com/people/pt/Zachary_Taylor.html
title = The Religious Affiliation of 12th U.S. President Zachary Taylor
publisher = adherents.com |accessdate=2008-02-23]
#* Although raised an Episcopalian and married to a devout Episcopalian, he never became a full communicant member in the church.
# Millard Fillmorendash Unitarian [Unitarian site http://www.uuquincy.org/projects/stamps/6millardfillmore.htm]
# Franklin Piercendash "no specific affiliation" (later Episcopalian)
#* Franklin Steiner quotes a personal communication from Roy Nichols (then engaged in writing a biography of Pierce) in which the latter characterized Pierce's faith as "decidedly orthodox". However Pierce did not consistently attend churches of one specific denomination.
#* Four years after leaving office, he was baptized, confirmed, and became a regular communicant in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, in Concord, NH.
# James Buchananndash Presbyteriancite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/buchanan
title = American President: James Buchanan
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
accessdate = 2008-03-19]
#* Buchanan, raised a Presbyterian, attended and supported various churches throughout his life. He joined the Presbyterian Church after retiring the presidency.
# Abraham Lincolnndash no affiliation See: Abraham Lincoln and religion
#* Life before the presidency
#**For much of his life, Lincoln was undoubtedly Deist (see [http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/steinlinc.htm] , [http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_remsburg/six_historic_americans/chapter_5.html] ). In his younger days he openly challenged orthodox religions, but as he matured and became a candidate for public office, he kept his Deist views more to himself, and would sometimes attend Presbyterian services with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. He loved to read the Bible, and even quoted from it, but he almost never made reference to Jesus, and is not known to have ever indicated a belief in the divinity of Jesus.
#** Evidence against Lincoln's ever being Christian includes offerings from two of Lincoln's most intimate friends, Ward Hill Lamon and William H. Herndon. Both Herndon and Lamon published biographies of their former colleague after his assassination relating their personal recollections of him. Each denied Lincoln's adherence to Christianity and characterized his religious beliefs as deist or atheist.
#* Lincoln's religion at the time of his death is a matter about which there is more disagreement. A number of Christian pastors, writing months and even years after Lincoln's assassination, claimed to have witnessed a late-life conversion by Lincoln to Protestant Christianity. Some pastors date a conversion following the death of his son Eddie in 1850, and some following the death of his son Willie in 1862, and some later than that. These accounts are hard to substantiate and historians consider most of them to be apocryphal.
#** One such account is an entry in the memory book "The Lincoln Memorial Album—Immortelles" (edited by Osborn H. Oldroyd, 1882, New York: G.W. Carleton & Co., p. 366) attributed to "An Illinois clergyman" (unnamed) which reads "When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus." Other entries in the memory book are attributed by name. See a discussion of this story in "They Never Said It", by Paul F. Boller & John George, (Oxford Univ. Press, 1989, p. 91).
#** Rev. Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian church in Washington D.C., which Lincoln attended with his wife when he attended any church, never claimed a conversion. According to D. James Kennedy in his booklet, "What They Believed: The Faith of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln", "Dr. Gurley said that Lincoln had wanted to make a public profession of his faith on Easter Sunday morning. But then came Ford's Theater." (p. 59, Published by Coral Ridge Ministries, 2003) Though this is possible, we have no way of verifying the truth of the report. The chief evidence against it is that Dr. Gurley, so far as we know, never mentioned it publicly. The determination to join, if accurate, would have been extremely newsworthy. It would have been reasonable for Dr. Gurley to have mentioned it at the funeral in the White House, in which he delivered the sermon which has been preserved [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gurley.htm] . The only evidence we have is an affidavit signed more than sixty years later by Mrs. Sidney I. Lauck, then a very old woman. In her affidavit signed under oath in Essex County, New Jersey, February 15, 1928, she said, "After Mr. Lincoln's death, Dr. Gurley told me that Mr. Lincoln had made all the necessary arrangements with him and the Session of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church to be received into the membership of the said church, by confession of his faith in Christ, on the Easter Sunday following the Friday night when Mr. Lincoln was assassinated." Mrs. Lauck was, she said, about thirty years of age at the time of the assassination.
#**John Remsburg, President of the American Secular Union, argued against claims of Lincoln's conversion in his book "Six Historic Americans" (1906). He cites several of Lincoln's close associates:
#***"The man who stood nearest to President Lincoln at Washingtonndash nearer than any clergyman or newspaper correspondentndash was his private secretary, Col. John G. Nicolay. In a letter dated May 27, 1865, Colonel Nicolay says: "Mr. Lincoln did not, to my knowledge, in any way change his religious ideas, opinions, or beliefs from the time he left Springfield to the day of his death."
#***"After his assassination Mrs. Lincoln said: "Mr. Lincoln had no hope and no faith in the usual acceptance of these words." His lifelong friend and executor, Judge David Davis, affirmed the same: "He had no faith in the Christian sense of the term." His biographer, Colonel Lamon, intimately acquainted with him in Illinois, and with him during all the years that he lived in Washington, says: "Never in all that time did he let fall from his lips or his pen an expression which remotely implied the slightest faith in Jesus as the son of God and the Savior of men." [http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_remsburg/six_historic_americans/chapter_5.html#3]
# Andrew Johnsonndash "no affiliation" cite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/johnson
title = American President: Andrew Johnson
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
accessdate = 2008-10-08]
#*Some sources refer to Johnson having Baptist parents.Fact|date=October 2008 He accompanied his wife Eliza McCardle Johnson to Methodist services sometimes, belonged to no church himself, and sometimes attended Catholic services—remarking favorably that there was no reserved seating.cite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/johnson/essays/biography/7
title = American President: Andrew Johnson: Family Life
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
accessdate = 2008-10-08] Accused of being an infidel, he replied: "As for my religion, it is the doctrine of the Bible, as taught and practiced by Jesus Christ." [cite book|title=The Age of Hate:Andrew Johnson And The Radicals|year=1930|author=G.F. Milton|pages=80|id=ISBN 1417916583|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|year=2004 as cited in Steiner "op. cit."]
# Ulysses S. Grantndash Presbyterian, Methodist
#*Grant was never baptized into any church, though he accompanied his wife Julia Grant to Methodist services. Many sources list his religious affiliation as Methodist based on a Methodist minister's account of a deathbed conversion. He did leave a note for his wife in which he hoped to meet her again in a better world.
# Rutherford B. Hayesndash "No specific affiliation"
#*Reports of Hayes's religion are confused, with some report stating that he was raised Presbyterian, others Methodist.cite web
url = http://www.adherents.com/people/ph/Rutherford_B_Hayes.html
title = The Religious Affiliation of 19th U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
publisher = adherents.com
accessdate = 2008-02-25 ] In general, however, it is agreed that he held himself to be a Christian, but of no specific church. [cite web
url = http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/visitors/display.asp?id=366&subj=visitors
title = Frequently asked questions
publisher = Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
quote = The president never espoused a particular religion, but attended Methodist Church with his wife Lucy.
accessdate = 2008-02-25 ]
#*In his 1890 May 17 diary entry, he states: "Writing a few words for Mohonk Negro Conference, I find myself using the word Christian. I am not a subscriber to any creed. I belong to no church. But in a sense, satisfactory to myself and believed by me to be important, I try to be a Christian, or rather I want to be a Christian and to help do Christian work." [cite book|chapterurl=http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/hayes/Volume04/Chapter50/May171890.txt|chapter=May 17, 1890|url=http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/hayes/index.cfm|volume=IV|title=The Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes, Nineteenth President of the United States|editor=Charles Richard Williams, ed.|location=Columbus, Ohio|publisher=Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society|year=1922]
#* Hayes' wife, Lucy, was a Methodist, a temperance advocate, and deeply opposed to slavery. Their children were baptized in the Methodist Church.
# James Garfieldndash Disciples of Christcite book
last=Green
first=F. M.
editor=John T. Brown
title=Churches of Christ
url=http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/jtbrown/coc/COC00.HTM
accessdate=2008-02-19
year=1906
publisher=John P. Morton and Company
location=Louisville, Kentucky
pages=412-414
chapter=Some Pioneers, and Others Who Have Been Prominent in the Restoration Movement: James A. Garfield
chapterurl = http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/jtbrown/coc/COC1306.HTM ]
#* He was baptized at age eighteen.
#* Through his twenties, Garfield preached and held revival meetings, though he was never formally a minister within the church.
# Chester A. Arthurndash Episcopaliancite web
url = http://millercenter.org/index.php/academic/americanpresident/arthur
title = American President: Chester Alan Arthur
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia
accessdate = 2008-02-27 ]
#*His father was a Baptist preacher.
#*Upon his wife's death in 1880, he commissioned a memorial window for the south transept of St. John's, Lafayette Square, visible from the White House and lighted from within at his behest. [cite web
url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ea21.html
title = Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur
publisher = White House
accessdate = 2008-02-27]
# Grover Clevelandndash Presbyterian [cite web
url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gc2224.html
title = Biography of Grover Cleveland |publisher=White House |accessdate=2008-02-16]
# Benjamin Harrisonndash Presbyterian [cite web
url = http://www.adherents.com/people/ph/Benjamin_Harrison_pres.html
title = The Religious Affiliation of Benjamin Harrison 23rd U.S. President
publisher = Adherents.com ]
#* Harrison became a church elder, and taught Sunday school.
#* Franklin Steiner categorized Harrison as the first President who was unquestionably a communicant in an orthodox Church at the time he was elected.
# William McKinleyndash Methodist [cite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/mckinley
title = American President: William McKinley
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia
accessdate = 2008-02-26]
#*Early in life, he planned to become a Methodist minister. [cite web
url = http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/mckinley/essays/biography/1
title = President William McKinley: A Life in Brief
publisher = Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia
accessdate = 2008-02-26]
#*James Rusling, a McKinley supporter, related a story that McKinley had addressed a church delegation and had stated that one of the objectives of the Spanish-American War was "to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them". [cite journal
url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=TXE73VWcsEEC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=mckinley+rusling+christianize+philippines&source=web&ots=9632VujkAE&sig=ZHywxfRrcinGQHdL9YWrTWgtpBQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result
first=James |last=Rusling
title=Interview with President William McKinley
journal=The Christian Advocate
date=22 January 1903
pages=17 Reprinted in cite book
editor = Daniel Schirmer and Stephen Rosskamm Shalom
title = The Philippines Reader
location = Boston
publisher = South End Press
year = 1987
page = 22–23] Recent historians have judged this account unreliable, especially in light of implausibleVague|date=July 2008|sounds like editorializing statements Rusling made about Lincoln's religion. [cite book
title = Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History
first = Richard |last=Shenkman
publisher = HarperCollins
year = 1992
page = 38
accessdate = 2008-02-26] Dutch Reformedcite web
title = The Religion of Theodore Roosevelt
url = http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/Religion.htm
publisher = Theodore Roosevelt Association
accessdate = 2008-02-27]
#*Roosevelt always stated that he was Dutch Reformed; however, he attended Episcopal churches where there was no Reformed church nearby. (His second wife Edith was Episcopal from birth.) As there was no Dutch Reformed church in Oyster Bay, New York, he attended Christ Church Oyster Bay when in residence there, and it was in that church that his funeral was held.
#* His mother was Presbyterian and as a child he attended Presbyterian churches with her.cite book|author=Theodore Roosevelt|title=An Autobiography|year=1913|chapter=Boyhood and Youth|chapterurl=http://www.bartleby.com/55/1.html|id=ISBN 1406506060]
# William Howard Taftndash Unitarian [cite web|url=http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/williamhowardtaft.html|title=William Howard Taft|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|accessdate=2007-05-26]
#* Before becoming president, Taft was offered the presidency of Yale University, at that time affiliated with the Congregationalist Church; Taft turned the post down, saying, "I do not believe in the divinity of Christ." [cite book
first = David Henry |last=Burton
title = Taft, Holmes, and the 1920s Court: An Appraisal
publisher = Fairleigh Dickinson University Press |location=Madison, New Jersey
pages = 24 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=y4b6z1zJFoQC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&source=web&ots=uteZzZUf1b&sig=s74E-Q7w7maw-VJPmxroI-yZuMU
accessdate = 2008-02-16]
#*Taft's beliefs were the subject of some controversy, and in 1908 he found it necessary to refute a rumor that he was an atheist.cite news
title=Taft as a Churchman; Belongs to Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, and Has a Pew in Washington
url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F03E5DC153EE233A25754C1A9609C946997D6CF&oref=slogin
format=PDF
work=New York Times
page=2
date=June 17, 1908
accessdate=2008-02-16
quote=Word reached Washington to-day that the report is being energetically circulated that Secretary Taft is an atheist, and the Secretary's friends are indignant. ]
# Woodrow Wilsonndash Presbyteriancite book
last=Smith
first=Gary Scott
title=Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush
accessdate=2008-02-16
year=2006
publisher=Oxford University Press US
location=Oxford; New York
pages=159 ff.
chapter=Woodrow Wilson: Presbyterian Statesman
chapterurl = http://books.google.com/books?id=svFtpYz78OsC&pg=PA159&lpg=PA159&source=web&ots=9yztyHm0Rm&sig=KYczYPO_eA_cqTtILJs_kIOxBSQ#PPA159,M1 ]
#* Wilson's father was a Presbyterian minister and professor of theology.
#* Prior to being Governor of New Jersey and President of the United States, Wilson served as President of Princeton University, which was at the time affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
# Warren G. Hardingndash Baptist [cite web
url = http://www.adherents.com/people/ph/Warren_Harding.html
title = The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President Warren G. Harding
publisher = adherents.com Harding was a trustee of various Baptist churches from the age of 17 to the end of his life (see cite web
url = http://www.tbcmarion.org/pdf/trinity%20baptist%20church.pdf
title = Trinity Baptist Churchndash Marion, Ohio: History And Development|accessdate=2008-02-16|format=PDF]
# Calvin Coolidgendash Congregationalist [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pc/Calvin_Coolidge.html |title=The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge |publisher=adherents.com]
# Herbert Hooverndash Quaker [cite web |title=The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President Herbert Hoover |url=http://www.adherents.com/people/ph/Herbert_Hoover.html |publisher=adherents.com ]
#* As Quakers customarily do not swear oaths, it was expected that Hoover would affirm the oath of office, and most sources state that he did so. [cite web |title=Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies |url=http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.htm |accessdate=2008-02-15] [cite web
url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/January/20070104165847mlenuhret0.8249933.html
date=2007-01-04
title=U.S. Swearing-in Ceremonies Highlight Religious Freedom Legacy: Constitutionally, religion is not a qualification for office
publisher=U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs
accessdate=2008-02-15] However, a "Washington Post" article dated February 27, 1929 stated that he planned to swear, rather than affirm, the oath. [cite news
title = Hoover Plans to Swear on Bible, Taking Oath |work=Washington Post
date = February 27, 1929 |page=5 |quote=Herbert Hoover, in taking the oath of office March 4, will swearndash not affirmndash with one hand on an old family Quaker Bible, that contains the date of his own birth. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/232639042.html?dids=232639042:232639042&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Feb+27%2C+1929&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1877-1954)&edition=&startpage=5]
# Franklin D. Rooseveltndash Episcopalian [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pr/Franklin_D_Roosevelt.html |title=The Religious Affiliation of 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt |publisher=adherents.com]
# Harry S. Trumanndash Baptist [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pt/Harry_S_Truman.html|title=The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President Harry S. Truman |publisher=adherents.com]
# Dwight D. Eisenhowerndash Presbyteriancite web
url = http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/GUIDES/Eisenhower_and_religion.pdf
title = A Guide to Historical Holdings in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library: Eisenhower and Religion
first = Herbert |last=Pankratz |publisher=United States Archives |month=July |year=2001
accessdate = 2008-02-15|format=PDF]
#*Eisenhower's religious upbringing is the subject of some controversy, due to the conversion of his parents to the "Bible Student" movement, the forerunner of the Jehovah's Witnesses, in the late 1890s; originally, the family belonged to the River Brethren, a Mennonite sept. According to the Eisenhower Presidential Library, there is no evidence that Eisenhower participated in this group, and there are records that show he attended Sunday school at a Brethren church.
#*Until he became president, Eisenhower had no formal church affiliation, a circumstance he attributed to the frequent moves demanded of an Army officer. He was baptized, confirmed, and became a communicant in the Presbyterian church in a single ceremony February 1, 1953, just 12 days after his first inauguration, the only president to undergo any of these rites while in office.
#*Eisenhower was instrumental in the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 (an act highly promoted by the Knights of Columbus), and the 1956 adoption of "In God We Trust" as the motto of the USA, and its 1957 introduction on paper currency. He composed a prayer for his first inauguration, began his cabinet meetings with silent prayer, and met frequently with a wide range of religious leaders while in office.
#*His presidential library includes an inter-denominational chapel in which he, his wife Mamie, and his firstborn son (who died in childhood) are buried.
# John F. Kennedyndash Roman Catholic [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pk/John_F_Kennedy.html|title=The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President John F. Kennedy|publisher=adherents.com ]
#*Kennedy is the first and thus far only Catholic president.
# Lyndon Johnsonndash Disciples of Christ [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pj/Lyndon_Johnson.html |title=The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson |publisher=adherents.com ]
# Richard Nixonndash Quaker [cite web
url = http://www.adherents.com/people/pn/Richard_Nixon.html
title = The Religious Affiliation of President Richard Nixon | publsher = adherents.com]
#*Contrary to Quaker custom, Nixon swore the oath of office at both of his inaugurations. [See videos on the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies website: [rtsp://video.webcastcenter.com/srs_g2/inauguration/1969RichardNixonInauguration.rm 1969] [rtsp://video.webcastcenter.com/srs_g2/inauguration/1973RichardNixonInauguration.rm 1973] ]
# Gerald R. Fordndash Episcopaliancite web
url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/grffacts.asp
title=Gerald R. Ford - Facts and Favorites
publisher=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum|accessdate=2008-02-10]
# Jimmy Carterndash Baptist [cite news|work=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/982650.stm|title=Jimmy Carter splits with Baptists |date=2000-10-21|accessdate=2007-05-26] , born again
#* In 2000, Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention, disagreeing over the role of women in society. He continued to teach Sunday School and serve as a deacon in his local Baptist Church.
# Ronald Reaganndash Presbyteriancite web
url = http://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs/lc/reagan_facts.asp
title = Ronald Reagan Facts
publisher = Ronald Reagon Presidential Foundation and Library |accessdate=2008-02-15]
#*Reagan's father was Roman Catholic [cite web
url = http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html
title = CNN Special: Ronald Reagan 1911-2004
publisher = CNN.com
accessdate = 2008-02-28] , but Reagan was raised in his mother's Disciples of Christ denomination and was baptized there on September 21, 1922 [cite web
url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/timeline/
title = Timeline of Ronald Reagan's Life
publisher = PBS
accessdate = 2008-02-15] . Nancy and Ronald Reagan were married in the Disciples of Christ "Little Brown Church" in Studio City, California on March 4, 1952. Beginning in 1963 Reagan generally attended Presbyterian church services at Bel-Air Presbyterian Church, Bel-Air, California. During his presidency he rarely attended church services. He became an official member of Bel-Air Presbyterian after leaving the Presidency. Reagan stated that he considered himself a "born-again Christian".
# George H. W. Bushndash Episcopalian [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pb/George_HW_Bush.html |title=The Religious Affiliation of U.S. President George H. W. Bush|publisher=adherents.com]
# Bill Clintonndash Baptist [cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/people/pc/Bill_Clinton.html |title=The Religious Affiliation of President William Jefferson Clinton |publisher=adherents.com]
#* Clinton, during his presidency, attended a Methodist church in Washington along with his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was baptized and raised Methodist.Fact|date=February 2008
# George W. Bushndash Methodistcite news
last = Cooperman
first = Alan
title = Openly Religious, to a Point
work=Washington Post
pages=A01
date = 2004-09-15
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24634-2004Sep15?language=printer
accessdate=2008-02-15] ::Bush was raised in the Episcopal Church but converted to Methodism upon his marriage in 1977.

List of Presidential religious affiliations (by religion)

;Baptist
*Warren Harding
*Harry Truman
*Jimmy Carter ("Southern Baptist") ("after serving as president, Carter broke with the SBC over its stand on the submission of women")
*Bill Clinton ("Southern Baptist");Roman Catholic
*John F. Kennedy;Congregationalist
*Calvin Coolidge;Disciples of Christ
*James Garfield
*Lyndon Johnson
*Ronald Reagan;Dutch Reformed
*Martin Van Buren
*Theodore Roosevelt;Episcopalian
*George Washington
*Thomas Jefferson (sympathetic to Unitarianism and Deism)
*James Madison [also Deist]
*James Monroe [possibly Deist]
*William Henry Harrison
*John Tyler
*Zachary Taylor
*Franklin Pierce
*Chester A. Arthur
*Franklin D. Roosevelt
*Gerald Ford
*George H. W. Bush;Methodist
*James Polk ("originally Presbyterian")
*Ulysses Grant ("allegedly; his theology is unknown")
*William McKinley
*George W. Bush ("originally Episcopalian");Presbyterian
*Andrew Jackson
*James Polk ("later Methodist")
*James Buchanan
*Grover Cleveland
*Benjamin Harrison
*Woodrow Wilson
*Dwight D. Eisenhower;Quaker
*Herbert Hoover
*Richard Nixon;"No denominational affiliation"
*Abraham Lincoln
*Andrew Johnson
*Ulysses Grant
*Rutherford Hayes;Deist
*Thomas Jefferson (sympathetic to Unitarianism; nominally Episcopalian)
*James Madison (nominally Episcopalian)
*James Monroe (disputed)
*Abraham Lincoln (disputed)

;Unitarian
*John Adams
*John Quincy Adams
*Millard Fillmore
*William Howard Taft

;"Disputed"
*James Monroe
*Martin Van Buren
*Zachary Taylor
*Abraham Lincoln
*Ulysses Grant

References

External links

* [http://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html Adherents.com's list]
* [http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/steinlinc.htm Abraham Lincoln was a Deist]
* [http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/franklin_steiner/presidents.html Excerpts from "The Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents", 1936, by Franklin Steiner]
* [http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/jeffstein.htm Steiner's chapter on Jefferson]
* [http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_remsburg/six_historic_americans/index.shtml "Six Historic Americans" by John Remsburg, 1906, examines religious views of Paine, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Lincoln, & Grant]
* [http://www.loc.gov/loc/madison/hutson-paper.html U.S. Library of Congress site: James Hutson article, "James Madison and the Social Utility of Religion"]
* [http://s93614334.onlinehome.us/religion/George_Washington Washington quotes on religion]
* [http://s93614334.onlinehome.us/religion/Thomas_Jefferson Jefferson quotes on religion]
* [http://www.deism.com/washington.htm George Washington as Deist]

Further reading

* Steiner, Franklin, "The Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents: From Washington to F.D.R.", Prometheus Books/The Freethought Library, July 1995. ISBN 0-87975-975-5
* David L. Holmes, "The Faiths of the Founding Fathers", Oxford University Press, May 2006. ISBN 0-19-530092-0