5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen Page A

religion." 71

    The "Fundamental Points" to Be Taught in the Schools
       The five points of fundamental religious belief expressed or implied in Franklin's statement are these:
       1. There exists a Creator who made all things, and mankind should recognize and worship Him.
       2. The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong.
       3. The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat each other.
       4. All mankind live beyond this life.
       5. In the next life mankind are judged for their conduct in this one.
       All five of these tenets run through practically all of the Founders' writings. These are the beliefs which the Founders sometimes referred to as the "religion of America," and they felt these Fundamentals were so important in providing "good government and the happiness of mankind" that they wanted them taught in the public schools along with morality and knowledge.

    Statements of the Founders Concerning These Principles
       Samuel Adams said that this group of basic beliefs which constitute "the religion of America is the religion of all mankind." 72 In other words, these fundamental beliefs belong to all world faiths and could therefore be taught without being offensive to any "sect or denomination" as indicated in the Virginia bill for establishing elementary schools.
       John Adams called these tenets the "general principles" on which the American civilization had been founded. 73
       Thomas Jefferson called these basic beliefs the principles "in which God has united us all." 74
       From these statements it is obvious how significantly the Founders looked upon the fundamental precepts of religion and morality as the cornerstones of a free government. This gives additional importance to the previously quoted warning of Washington when he said: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.... Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?" 75
       Washington issued this solemn warning because in France, shortly before he wrote his Farewell Address (1796), the promoters of atheism and amorality had seized control and turned the French Revolution into a shocking blood bath of wild excesses and violence. Washington obviously never wanted anything like that to happen in the United States. Therefore he had said: "In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness [religion and morality]." 76

    Alexis de Tocqueville Discovers the Importance
   of Religion in America
       When the French jurist, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited the United States in 1831, he became so impressed with what he saw that he went home and wrote one of the best definitive studies on the American culture and Constitutional system that had been published up to that time. His book was called Democracy in America. Concerning religion in America, de Tocqueville said:
       "On my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things." 77
       He described the situation as follows:
       "Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions.... I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion -- for who can search the human heart? -- but I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation and to every rank of society." 78

    European Philosophers Turned Out to Be Wrong
       In Europe, it had been