This year, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. They call it a semi-quincentennial, and it’s kind of a big deal. Two and a half centuries ago, in Philadelphia, 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. This foundational document gave birth to a new nation, a new form of government, and changed the world. Without the benefit of the communications technologies we enjoy today, and with a high degree of illiteracy, the language and ideas of this document were disseminated throughout the new independent states by public readings. People gathered outside taverns, town halls, and churches. And from the steps of those places, the intentions, convictions, and aspirations of the new nation were “declared” out loud. A shared understanding of what Americans held in common—both in terms of the rationale for separation from Great Britain and in terms of the values and convictions that would guide and shape the new nation—was essential to holding the fledgling nation together as it undertook an eight-year war for independence.
The Declaration of Independence is considered by many to be a masterpiece in terms of its eloquence and its effect. Some have referred to it as the “soul of the nation.” The United States Constitution was written eleven years later to intentionally reflect its values and remain consistent with its principles. It outlines and underscores a shared belief in inherent rights, the virtue of equality, the importance of individual liberty, and the obligations and responsibilities that accompany them. The Declaration and the United States Constitution that would be born of it reflect and enumerate the nation’s founding principles. Sadly, many of these founding principles have been forgotten, go largely unacknowledged by many citizens, and are even undermined by cultural and social forces at work in American society. But these founding principles were more than rallying cries for a revolution. They are the basis for a free and civil society. Among these founding principles is “Religious Liberty.” And this principle is not simply a “tip of the hat” to the flight from religious persecution that brought many to the New World. Rather, it was a deeply held belief that the free expression of religion was a natural right and essential to maintaining a good and free society.
The religious tone of our founding documents and the inclusion of religious language are undeniable. It was written into these documents on purpose and for a purpose. It does not declare America to be a Christian nation as much as it declares America to be a nation that acknowledges Almighty God and believes people should be free to live according to their beliefs. The delegates who gathered in Philadelphia to craft this document were religiously diverse for the day. Roger Sherman, who worked with Jefferson to draft the Declaration, was a deeply committed Christian who believed in the Bible. Jefferson, who drafted some of the document’s most eloquent language, removed all supernatural elements from his personally edited version of the Bible. Ben Franklin, who called upon the convention to acknowledge God and even pray, expressed religious ambivalence in his own autobiography; fellow signer John Witherspoon was a Presbyterian minister, who trained up generations of statesmen and pastors at what would become Princeton University. Regardless of the intensity of their religious commitments and faith expressions, regardless of their religious affiliations, the delegates who gathered to write and ratify the Declaration of Independence believed that the free expression of religion was paramount.
The protections of religious liberty, spelled out in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, make it clear that the framers of that document assumed the right to the free expression of religion. The government is prohibited from establishing a state religion and from prohibiting the free expression of religion. It is worth reflecting upon this essential founding principle in the days in which we find ourselves. Religious liberty is not a new idea to give people of faith political power. It is a founding principle, baked into American society. It is protected because it is assumed that religion and faith are integral to maintaining a free society, and are good for it. Religious liberty allows people to hold and express the beliefs that guide their moral, social, and political decisions. You do not have to be religious to defend the principle of religious liberty, just a constitutionalist.
This article first appeared in print in the Bucks County Courier Times on March 29, 2026.
