Religion and the Founding of Our Republic

Ordered Liberty has a series of enlightening posts on the topic:

• "While there is no question that many of the founders, and most of the major Founders, eschewed orthodox trinitarianism, their conception of God remained essentially theistic rather than deistic" — Redefining the definition of deism when discussing the Founders.
  
  
• "A fantastic reminder from one of our most overlooked Founders..., clarifying why the dis-establishment of religion is good for religion, for government and for the civic order & peace of our nation" — Thomas Paine on religious establishment.
  
  
• "One of the important religious developments in the early American Republic involved the rapid embrace of Catholics by many of the Founding Fathers," and "an embrace by Catholics of the new Republic" — Catholic liturgical patriotism in the early Republic.
  
  
• "Masonry played a dual role as a source of unity in America and as a new religion designed to replace Christianity for those skeptical of Christianity's claims" — Gordon Wood on Freemasonry and the founding.
  
  
• "'I will insist the Hebrews have [contributed] more to civilize men than any other nation'" — John Adams on the influence of Judaism in human affairs.
  
  
• "One interesting topic... that casts doubt on Jefferson's public relationship with organized religion regards the extent to which Jefferson supported public Christian worship in federal facilities" — Did Jefferson support public worship in federal buildings during his administration?
  
  
• "Adams' view of liberty was grounded in a belief in divine providence..., a providence that decreed not only the fate of nations but also the fate of individuals" — Divine providence, liberty and equality in the thought of John Adams.

Also recently, a quote from the great Nicolás Gómez Dávila on the topic: "The separation of Church and State can suit the Church, but it is disastrous for the State because it delivers it over to pure Machiavellianism" — #2,497 of Don Colacho’s Aphorisms.