Jefferson and Madison Were Correct to Oppose Official Prayer Proclamations

Writing in World magazine recently, Anderson University theology professor Lucas Stamps lauded George Washington for issuing a proclamation calling on Americans to give thanks and pray to God. At the same time, Stamps said Jefferson was wrong for declining to do so during Jefferson’s two terms as president. Stamps correctly noted that second president John Adams expressed some remorse for issuing a proclamation. However, Stamps did not disclose that James Madison also regretted his 1815 Thanksgiving proclamation.

The point of Stamps’ article is to reassure readers that they should not worry about a theocracy if public officials talk about their faith in public. Expecting a negative answer, he asks,

Should non-Christians—or Christians for that matter—be nervous to hear Vice President J. D. Vance paraphrase the Nicene Creed or Secretary of State Marco Rubio give an evangelistic message at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service? Do these instances of civic religion threaten the First Amendment and portend a looming theocracy or a dreaded “Christian Nationalism”?

I am nervous about Vance and Rubio for many reasons, but personal reflection on their faith isn’t one of them. The two examples given by Stamps are informal, personal utterances of elected officials exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of religious expression. As I say in my upcoming book, The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History, “Politicians are people too, and they have beliefs and feelings. Whatever these descriptions of God meant religiously, they don’t set national policy or have the force of law.” On the other hand, a proclamation or executive order is a statement by an elected official made while speaking for the government. There is a difference between personal reflections and official statements.

In his World column, I believe Stamps conflated the two types of expressions. I also believe Jefferson and Madison understood the difference between personal expressions of faith and official government approval of faith. For reasons they stated (and Stamps failed to state), they argued against presidential proclamations of religion. I want to provide two lengthy citations, one from Jefferson and one from Madison, which will make those reasons clear.

Thomas Jefferson

In a letter dated January 23, 1808 to Rev. Samuel Miller, Jefferson responded directly to a question about the constitutionality of calling for a religious proclamation from Jefferson. The context is important and to give it, I will provide the crux of ...