On July Fourth, the day of celebration of The Declaration of Independence, we would all profit from reviewing some of the particulars of this historic document. First, it is noteworthy that the original signers included 32 Episcopalians (Anglicans), 13 Congregationalists, 12 Presbyterians. two Quakers, two Unitarians and one Roman Catholic, thus a wide range of faith traditions. Of these, two Episcopalians (Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson) self-identified as Deists, as did two Congregationalists (John Adams and Robert Paine).
It is further worthy of note that these celebrated signers included the following identifiers for a deity: Supreme Judge of the World, The Creator, The Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God and Divine Providence.
In no place in the Declaration of Independence is the name of the Judeo-Christian God mentioned, nor is any reference made to any particular deity or faith tradition.
The placement of The Ten Commandments in every Louisiana schoolroom is an affront to the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and an insult to the signers of this historic document. If they could speak now, I can imagine them declaring in unison, “Take them down.”
THE REV. DR. JULIUS R. TIPTON
Baton Rouge