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"In the Hands of a Good Providence": Religion in the Life of George Washington

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For all that we know about George Washington, his faith has remained a mystery. The main reason for this is Washington himself, whose natural reticence is no more apparent than in the matters of his soul. Sifting through his papers for evidence of his beliefs is a daunting task, but Ms. Thompson does an admirable and evenhanded job and sheds new light on an old subject. She provides the proper context for Washington's beliefs by exploring the religious environment in which he lived - 18th century Virginian Anglicanism. To those who claim Washington was not a Christian she counters than they provide a narrow definition for Christianity, namely a modern-day evangelical Christian. She posits that Washington was a Christian who saw his actions as a statement of faith, rather than mere words. He supported the Church, was a regular churchgoer, was familiar with the Bible since childhood, bought dozens of Christian sermons, took the oath as a Godfather eight times, and was a constant donor to charities. Ms. Thompson is in a unique position to address this issue with her extensive familiarity with Washington's papers as the Research Historian at the Collections Department of the Mount Vernon. She brings to light many of Washington's early writings which demonstrates his familiarity with the Bible and contains references to Christ. Does she claim to know the exact state of Washington's soul? No, she humbly answers... but the preponderance of evidence points to a self-effacing Christianity.

Written by Mount Vernon researcher Mary V. Thompson, this book is a quintessential answer to the question "Was George Washington truly a Christian?" Thompson allows Washington to speak for himself by quoting his letters, speeches, and orders extensively throughout this book. She places Washington's faith in the context of the times, by not only detailing what the Anglican low-church was like, but by illustrating the faiths of his friends, associates, and family. The Christianity of George Washington, as concluded in this book, was not the evangelical kind of later generations, nor was it the Deistic kind of his peers. Instead, Washington's religious temperment was very much like his personality: reserved but profound. He participated in church life, serving as a vestryman, he gave money to many different churches, donated to charities, read and purchased religious books for his library and his wards, attended services as frequently as was normal, encouraged the spread of Christianity, and sought to establish a nation that was founded on religious sentiments, not just Christian, but of any faith. Other highlights include a discussion of the changes in Washington's relgious beliefs, his attending many different churches, his work with the indians, and the religious/moral basis of freeing his slaves. This book was exhaustively documented from mainly primary sources which provides infalliable support. My only complaint was that people were frequently introduced by describing their relationship to Washington, then later their names were provided. However, this books seems to be intended for an audience quite familiar with Washington so this is not really an issue. Overall, I was inspired by Washington's appeal for religious toleration but also a personal adherence and obligation to one's own religion. I felt like I became aquainted with Washington because I read his own words, and this book was transportive in that I felt as if I was actually in early America. An engaging, unbiased, indispensible look at religion in the life of the Founding Father.

I recently obtained a copy of this book to use for a paper I am writing on the topic of George Washington's religion. As far as I am aware, it is the only work besides "George Washington & Religion" by Paul F. Boller (1963) that focuses exclusively on Washington's religious beliefs. Of the two, I found this one to be the superior book. The conclusions were better supported, and important evidence was brought to light that Boller either overlooked or chose not to include.

This book included significant original research and insightful interpretations. For example, many historians have searched in vain for evidence that George Washington engaged in regular Bible study. In the absence of a "shout it from the rooftops" declaration from Washington himself on the subject, they have concluded that Washington was a deist or a luke-warm Christian at best. Thompson took a very different approach, first by including eyewitness accounts from Tobias Lear about Washington's family bible study, then by investigating the books and artwork present in the Washington household. Finally, she identified numerous Biblical references in Washington's personal letters, many of which are so obscure that someone unfamiliar with the Bible could hardly have written them.

As a Christian, I have long believed that Washington was not a deist. As a student of history, I wanted to know the unbiased truth. Thanks to this inspired work, I have been able to reconcile these previously conflicting beliefs.

If Washington's religious beliefs are of interest, you are unlikely to find a better treatment of the subject than this.

No one comes to the topic of religion without bias but Mary Thompson seems to be as open-minded and straightforward as is possible. Indeed she has a C.S. Lewis like flair for discussing religious points in such a nonpartisan way that few could quibble.

Most importantly, she has that agreeable writing style that the best non-fiction writers have of footnoting and documenting without letting the scholarship interfere with an interesting narrative.

In summation, a pleasure to read and essential to anyone wanting to understand Washington's character.

As a student of history, I understand that in order to do justice to a topic from the historical viewpoint, one must consider all sides of the story. That is precisely what Mary Thompson has done with this book!

The author did a great job of objectively walking the reader through the life of George Washington, from his ancestry to his descendants, and how religion factors into all of that.

I have taken courses both in American history and Church history, and this book does a great job of giving the reader a solid background in both. This is a must read for anyone interested in knowing more about history in this country, religion in this country, or just about our first president.