American Saints of the Supreme Being

 Jefferson Memorial:

Roman Temple:

It's hard not to notice the similarities. Inscribed on the Jefferson memorial is the quote:

"...I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

 - Thomas Jefferson

That's a metaphor, right? Is he talking about an actual altar? I'm not sure about Jefferson specifically, but his friends seem to believe in an actual altar.

Cult of Reason:

The Cult of Reason was a belief system established in France and intended as a replacement for Christianity during the French Revolution.

The Cult of Reason was explicitly anthropocentric. Its goal was the perfection of mankind through the attainment of Truth and Liberty, and its guiding principle to this goal was the exercise of the human faculty of Reason. In the manner of conventional religion, it encouraged acts of congregational worship and devotional displays to the ideal of Reason. A careful distinction was always drawn between the rational respect of Reason and the veneration of an idol: "There is one thing that one must not tire telling people," Momoro explained, "Liberty, reason, truth are only abstract beings. They are not gods, for properly speaking, they are part of ourselves."

This is the Roman Catholic church they stole and turned into a "Temple of Reason".

The Cult of Reason was the most radical wing of the French revolutionaries. The more moderate faction was the Cult of the Supreme Being. Lead by Maximilian Robespierre, it became the state religion of the revolutionary French Republic.

Robespierre believed that reason is only a means to an end, and the singular end is virtue. He sought to move beyond simple deism (often described as Voltairean by its adherents) to a new and, in his view, more rational devotion to the Godhead. The primary principles of the Cult of the Supreme Being were a belief in the existence of a god and the immortality of the human soul. Though not inconsistent with Christian doctrine, these beliefs were put to the service of Robespierre's fuller meaning, which was of a type of civic-minded, public virtue he attributed to the Greeks and Romans. This type of virtue could only be attained through active fidelity to liberty and democracy. Belief in a living god and a higher moral code, he said, were "constant reminders of justice" and thus essential to a republican society.

If you're familiar with the writings of the American Founding Fathers, you'll recognize the similarity here. Robespierre's religious beliefs were quite similar to Jefferson's religious beliefs.

Here is the Roman Catholic church the Cult of the Supreme Being stole, and used for their services.

Does this strike you as "non-religious"?

From the lips of Ronald Reagan:

Those -- Those who created our country -- the Founding Fathers and Mothers -- understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion.

The Mayflower Compact began with the words, "In the name of God, Amen." The Declaration of Independence appeals to "`Nature's God"' and the "Creator'" and "the Supreme Judge of the world." Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God.

James Madison in the Federalist Papers admitted that in the creation of our Republic he perceived the hand of the Almighty. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, warned that we must never forget the God from whom our blessings flowed.

  - Ronald Reagan

Which God is Ronald Reagan talking about? Jesus? Or the "Supreme Being"?

When Thomas Jefferson wrote about the "Creator" in the Declaration of Independence, was he talking about Jesus? Or the "Supreme Being"?

There is one key difference between the French Cult of the Supreme Being (CSB) and the American CSB.

In the period of 1770-1870, the Roman Catholic church did not give an inch to CSB-type beliefs. There were attempts by Catholics to develop a synthesis of the CSB and Catholicism. The Pope responded by aggressive condemnation and persecution, most notably in Auctorem Fidei, and the Syllabus of Errors.

As a result, people with CSB-type beliefs hated the Roman Catholic church. Thomas Jefferson's rhetoric on religion was focused primarily against Roman Catholicism. The same for most Enlightenment-era Deists.

However, Protestants, especially low-church Protestants, developed a synthesis of the CSB, and their Protestant religion. Historically, it is difficult to tell whether figures like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were Protestants or Deists. Why? Because Protestants and Deists said very similar things about God, and how God relates to civic life.

If you go to Washington DC, they promote something quite similar to the CSB. Since Jefferson, there have been various saints added to the CSB. In Washington, we have shrines to the Saints of the CSB: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King

You will not find a shrine to Jesus. Or Krishna. Or Buddha. Or Confucius. Or Allah. Or St. Vladimir.