Most Americans have probably never heard of Elizabeth Willing Powel. But she was a prominent socialite and political hostess in pre-Revolutionary Philadelphia. Her husband was the first mayor of that city after the Revolution. But she is more famous because she hosted political discussions for many of the leading figures of the American founding in her home. One of them was Benjamin Franklin.
When the Constitutional Convention ended, she asked him the question everyone was asking: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
Old Ben is said to have replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Franklin did not say this pessimistically. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Instead, he was pragmatically cautious. He was a realist. He knew that the form of government he and the other Founders had just put in place required an engaged and conscientious public.
John Adams made the same point more adamantly a few years later. In his October 11, 1798 letter to the Massachusetts Militia, Adams wrote:
“Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
A Christian Nation?
Before I make my point, I want to be clear about what I’m not saying.
It’s common for people to get into arguments about whether America is — or ever was — a “Christian Nation.” The problem with that is knowing what one means when they use the phrase.
If you mean that America can only be run and inhabited by Christians, that is clearly not the case. America is not a theocracy. It’s the opposite. The Founders made that point clear in the Bill of Rights’ First Amendment when they said: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
You can’t say America is “Christian” if you mean Christianity is the “established religion” of the land.
The point of the First Amendment was to specifically say you cannot do that. Ironically, America was the first nation to openly demand that everyone is free to exercise whatever religion they want to practice. It’s one of the main reasons for its success and America’s reputation as the greatest source of liberty in world history.
On the other hand, it’s ridiculous to assert that America wasn’t founded on Christian principles. When someone uses the term “Founding Fathers,” they’re usually referring to the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Of those, 28 were Episcopalians, 8 were Presbyterians, 7 were Congregationalists, 2 were Lutherans, 2 were Dutch Reformed, 2 were Methodists, 2 were Roman Catholics, 1 was unknown, and 3 were deists (Williamson, Wilson, and Franklin). This is at a time when church membership required a public confession of biblical faith.1
But if you take the “Founding Fathers” to consist of the 204 men who were not only delegates to the Constitutional Convention, but who also signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, 195 of them were Christians — 95%.
And don’t dismiss Ben Franklin just because he was a deist. He was not the kind of deist we’re used to hearing today. During the Constitutional Convention, James Madison offered the following quote from Franklin regarding God and his role in the American founding:
And have we forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly believe this and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.
~ James Madison quote of Benjamin Franklin in, Notes on Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985), p. 209.
Without going into any more depth, it is perfectly correct to say that America was founded directly on the Christian principles that all human beings are made in the image of God, that all human beings are also sinful, and that our form of government accounts for both. It’s why we have checks and balances.
This is not debatable. It’s spelled out clearly in the Declaration of Independence, and reinforced by everything the Founders said and did.
The question I want to explore is more existential and modern. It’s a question that follows from Ben Franklin’s cautious statement.
Can we keep it?
Hysterical or Historical?
If you’re anything like me, asking the question, “Can we keep it?” may sound a little hysterical. But it is sobering to consider another applicable example from history. Historian Edward Watts did just that in his book, The Final Pagan Generation.
[These _______ were] born into a world in which most believed that the public religious order of the past few millennia would continue indefinitely. They were the last _______ to grow up in a world that simply could not imagine a ______ world dominated by a _________ majority.
Let me fill in the blanks for you. They are, in order: “Romans,” “Romans,” “Roman,” and “Christian.”
Don’t miss the irony. Citizens of the Roman Empire in the early 400s AD could never have imagined that the pagan world they had grown used to would ever be replaced by a culture in which Christianity was dominant.
The Roman Empire fell in 476 AD. The Roman citizenry who watched it fall could never have known that Christianity would be responsible for transforming the modern world forever.2
Hard Questions
We are celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. But in 1974, two years before our 200th anniversary, Archbishop Fulton Sheen declared that “we are at the end of Christendom — the economic, political, and social life inspired by Christian principles … is ending. We have seen it die.”
Fifty-two years later, America is still here. Was Sheen wrong? More pointedly, was John Adams right? Can America as we’ve known it survive if what Sheen said is true?
Are we still a “moral and religious people”?
An Honest Assessment
Here is some data to consider before you answer that question.
According to Barna Research3 …
Less than 6% of Americans have and live out a biblical worldview. Inside the church, it’s less than 9%. As an aside, only 37% of Christian pastors have a biblical worldview.4
60% of parents embrace many of the ideals found in Nihilism, Marxism, Postmodernism, and Secular Humanism — all of which dismiss the existence of God.
In the 1990s, 73% of Americans “… believed that one or more gods, spiritual deities, supreme beings, higher powers, or supernatural authorities existed.” 75% of those identified the God of the Bible as one of those entities.” Today, that 73% has dropped to 40% … a minority of American adults.
65% of Americans believe that there is no objective moral truth. They see morality as being personal and subjective.
Only 23% of non-Christians believe human life is sacred. Among born-again Christians, only a slightly higher 35% do.
At the risk of overkill, I’ll stop there. But if the question is, “Are we a religious and moral people,” what would your answer be?
Is it any wonder we have skyrocketing rates of: abortion, sexual assault, marital infidelity, divorce, children without two parents, drug addiction, suicide, anxiety, deviant sexuality, or political apathy and corruption? Does our political discourse lead you to believe our “leaders” are serious about addressing any of it?
Does the combination of these seem like a good formula for “keeping a Republic” that is contingent on the behaviors of a “moral and religious people”?
A Cut Flower Culture
Many find these statistics hard to believe. They look out at the world around them and may either think that everything seems fine, or that it’s not as bad as some of us make it out to be. Sure, there are problems, but hasn’t the internet and our 24-hour news cycle culture just made us more aware of them?
I don’t think so. The statistics I mentioned may be off, but the trends in those statistics are what I find most troubling. None of them are heading in the right direction.
Not one.
Remember the early 4th century Romans. It seemed to them that their pagan world would never change. Fifty years later, Christianity left Roman paganism in the dustbin of history.
Os Guinness has compared a culture like ours to cut flowers in a vase. They’re pretty to look at. Their colors are vivid. But it’s only a matter of time before they’re wilted and black. The flowers are separated from their source of life.
They’re already dead. They just don’t know it yet.
And make no mistake, the data shows that the Republic our Founders gave us to keep is being increasingly severed from the source that made it flourish.
We are doing Rome in reverse — comfortable in a Christian-based culture that is being replaced by a new form of paganism right before our eyes. But let’s not make the same mistake they did — of assuming our society will survive just because it has so far. When our culture throws away the foundations on which human equality and dignity are based, the wilted, black flowers won’t be far behind.
No Time for Capitulation
Acknowledging these facts is not a license to surrender. Christianity has been oppressed and undermined since its inception. Ask the Apostles and the early members of The Way in Jerusalem how bright their future looked while they were being persecuted.
But they didn’t cave to the culture, and neither should we.
We aren’t here to give up, nor are we here to just exist and survive. We are called to engage the world around us. How we do that is up to us. But there shouldn’t be any debate about the fact that we have the obligation.
That obligation does not depend on any political party, judge, president, or election. But to say politics doesn’t matter is to bury your head in the sand.
Politics affects policy. Policy affects people. We care about people.
Do the math. If we care about people, we have to care about politics. But maybe not in the ways our culture and social media have trained us to care — by picking teams and fighting with the other side.
There are other ways to do this. Effective ways. Biblical ways.
Re-Planting Flowers
Our obligation to act is the only thing that will stop the decline we’re living through. If the Founders are right and we want to keep the Republic they gave us, we need to lead the way back to becoming a “moral and religious people.” That obligation is nothing new. Christians refer to it as our “calling.”
If we really believe we are God’s image bearers to the world, the calling I’m talking about is far different from what it has become in modern Christian-speak. Somehow, we’ve accepted the idea that only a chosen few are “called.” We wrongly refer to them as folks who are in “full-time ministry.” They’re the ones whom God has given some specific enterprise to engage the world.
Since that’s not us, we’re just here to cheer the “called” people on, fund their work, and observe from the sidelines. We’re content to be cheerleaders and never get in the game ourselves.
That’s not biblical. And I would like to submit that this mindset is a huge reason we’re in this mess. It’s most certainly not what I mean by being “called.”
The calling I’m talking about is a universal obligation that every Christian has because, guess what?
If you claim to be a Christian, you are — by default — “in full-time ministry.”
You are one of God’s ambassadors to the world. And you have been called in four different ways.5
TO CELEBRATE AND PROTECT GOOD THINGS
The good, the true, and the beautiful are all objective evidence of the character of the Creator. Our cut flower culture has relativized all three. But there are practical ways to celebrate goodness in the world:
Celebrate lifelong married love in a culture in which it’s rare.
Acknowledge and teach the next generation about God’s good design of male and female.
Pursue work done well and for the sake of others.
Honor, promote, and protect a view of liberty that is not based in our own personal freedom, but in a biblical form of freedom grounded in God’s moral law.
Care for God’s world in a way that helps it flourish.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:8
TO CREATE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THINGS THAT ARE MISSING
God made us to be stewards of this earth. We have been gifted in different ways to think about, imagine, innovate, and improve the world around us. We can contribute by:
Creating beauty in art, music, dance, literature, and architecture.
Telling someone who doesn’t know Jesus about him.
Starting a business to produce good things and provide gainful employment for others.
Planting a church in a community where there is none.
Imagining and producing stories that tell the truth about the world.
Opening a small school or providing quality educational options for parents.
Offering forgiveness in situations filled with bitterness and hurt.
TO RESIST AND OPPOSE EVIL IN THE WORLD
God perfect goodness does not allow him to tolerate evil. So, if he opposes all that is evil, so should we. Looking at the world around us, we see the consequences of evil everywhere. We can oppose it many ways by:
Preventing pornography use in our own homes and families and demanding online providers do the same.
Speaking out against the mistreatment of anyone.
Clarifying that a particular cause or action is sinful, even if it’s culture says it’s acceptable or celebrated.
Learning about, praying for, and sending aid to persecuted Christians around the world.
Speaking out or voting against proposed laws that target children for harm.
But as he who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ~ 1 Peter 1:15-16
TO RENEW AND RESTORE THINGS THAT ARE BROKEN
Throughout history, the church has been known for its care of the sick, the weak, the outcast, and those in prison. This began with the first Christians and has continued ever since. It’s the defining feature of the Christian life, not a random exception to it.
We are not called to a private faith that stays contained within the church walls on Sunday mornings. Christ is our model for how to live in this world as God intends. Renewing and restoring broken things is how we reflect him. And that can involve:
Medical researchers working toward therapies and medications that heal, but only within ethical, biblical boundaries.
Helping women in unexpected pregnancies embrace their pre-born children and reconciling them with their families.
Bringing the gospel to inmates and their families as they deal with the effects of incarceration.
Sharing how lives broken by sin can be restored by God with people who may never have heard such a message.
Walking with young people who believe lies about their bodies and identities to help them reconcile with who God created them to be.
The Only Way to Keep It
All of us can add to these lists. None of them are ground-breaking. And suggesting them is not wishful thinking or naive. They are simply the kinds of things a moral and religious people do. If they seem unrealistic, it’s only because we as a society have abandoned them for so long we’ve forgotten what it looks like to live out our corporate calling.
Just imagine how drastically our politics and our culture would look if every Christian committed themselves to follow that kind of calling. Imagine further what could happen to our culture if you could convince two or three people who are currently disengaged to join you.
On second thought, stop imagining it. Make a pledge to do something about it.
The independence we celebrate commemorates the vision of our Founders and their refusal to remain under the thumb of an authoritative British government. Remembering is good.
But it’s not enough.
The nation those Founders built was grounded in the character and goodness of the God of the Bible. But we will only keep it that way if we change the way we approach the future and live up to our calling — if we reconstitute ourselves as a “moral and religious people.”
Enjoy the 250th anniversary of our independence. But don’t stop there. Keeping a Republic is not a job for the faint of heart.
We have work to do.
NOTES
1 John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), p. 43.
2 I owe several of the points given here to: John David Davidson, “America After Christianity,” Touchstone, May/June 2025, p. 34.
3 Barna Research, American Worldview Inventory 2025.
4 Barna Research, American Worldview Inventory 2022-2023, Chapter 5.
5 What follows is based directly on the Colson Center project, Truth Rising. It’s an outstanding 4-lesson group study that you can access for free at: https://www.truthrising.com/
Very good! God help us in our efforts.
Happy fourth!