List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations

This is a list of the religious affiliations of Presidents of the United States. The particular religious affiliations of U.S. Presidents can affect their electability, shape their visions of society and how they want to lead it, and shape their stances on policy matters. For example, a contributing factor to Alfred E. Smith's defeat in the presidential election of 1928 was his Roman Catholic faith. In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy faced accusations that as a Catholic president he would do as Pope John XXIII would tell him to do. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and several other presidents were accused of being infidels during election campaigns—and at other times.

Related Topics:
Religious - U.S. Presidents - Alfred E. Smith - Presidential election of 1928 - Roman Catholic - John F. Kennedy - Pope John XXIII - Thomas Jefferson - Abraham Lincoln

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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.

Related Topics:
Agnostic - Founding Fathers of the United States - Washington - Secular

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Episcopalians are extraordinarily well represented among the presidents. This is in part because the Episcopal Church was the state religion in some states (such as Virginia) before their Constitutions were changed. Before the American Revolution, the Episcopal Church was the American branch of the Church of England. The first seven presidents listed below with Episcopalian affiliation were also the first seven from Virginia, and five of those were among the six presidents most closely identified with Deism. Since there have seldom been any churches of Deism, strictly speaking Deist is not an affiliation in the same way Episcopalian is; it is included in the list below, however, to give a more complete view of the religious views of the presidents.

Related Topics:
Episcopalians - Episcopal Church - State religion - American Revolution - Church of England - Deism

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The church closest to the White House is also Episcopal, and has been attended at least once by nearly every president since James Madison. St. John's Episcopal Church, just across Lafayette Square north of the White House, and built after the War of 1812, is one of about five sometimes referred to as "the Church of the Presidents".

Related Topics:
White House - James Madison - War of 1812

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Many people are interested not only in the religious affiliations of the presidents, but also in their inner beliefs. Some presidents, such as Madison and Monroe, were extremely reluctant to discuss their own religious views at all. In general, it is difficult to define with any certainty the faiths of presidents, because no one can truly be sure what relationship (if any) exists between another person and his deity, and because presidents, as public officials, have generally remained within the mainstream of American religious trends.

Related Topics:
Monroe - Faith

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With regard to Christianity, distinguishing affiliation from belief can be somewhat complicated. At issue, to a certain extent, is "What counts as belonging to a church?" Must one be a communicant to belong, or is baptism or even simple attendance sufficient? Are Unitarians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and independents who generally hold Jesus in high regard, but do not believe he was divine, to be counted as Christians or not? Numerous presidents changed their affiliations and/or their beliefs during their lives. George Washington, for example, gravitated from conventional Christianity as a youth towards Deism as he aged.

Related Topics:
Christianity - Communicant - Baptism - Unitarians - Jehovah's Witnesses - Jesus - Deism

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