Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
6 Quotes: Calvin Coolidge on religion and the Declaration of Independence
6 Quotes: Calvin Coolidge on religion and the Declaration of Independence
Apr 28, 2026 5:40 AM

Tomorrow, for the 243rd anniversary celebration of Independence Day, President Trump will give a speech on the National Mall. As with all such addresses in the modern age, Trump’s remarks will pared to the presidential gold standard for Fourth of July speeches—Calvin Coolidge’s speech on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Coolidge was so famous for his taciturnity that he earned the nickname “Silent Cal.” But when he did speak he could be moving and profound. Such was the case in his speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 5, 1926. Here are six quotes you should know from the speech about God, religion, and the Declaration.

1. “The American Revolution represented the informed and mature convictions of a great mass of independent, liberty-loving, God-fearing people who knew their rights, and possessed the courage to dare to maintain them.”

2. “While the written word was the foundation, it is apparent that the spoken word was the vehicle for convincing the people. This came with great force and wide range from the successors of Hooker and Wise. It was carried on with a missionary spirit which did not fail to reach the Scotch-Irish of North Carolina, showing its influence by significantly making that Colony the first to give instructions to its delegates looking to independence. This preaching reached the neighborhood of Thomas Jefferson, who acknowledged that his “best ideas of democracy” had been secured at church meetings.”

3. “When we take all these circumstances into consideration, it is but natural that the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence should open with a reference to Nature’s God and should close in the final paragraphs with an appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world and an assertion of a firm reliance on Divine Providence. Coming from these sources, having as it did this background, it is no wonder that Samuel Adams could say, ‘The people seem to recognize this resolution as though it were a decree promulgated from heaven.’”

4. “No one can examine this record and escape the conclusion that in the great outline of its principles the Declaration was the result of the religious teachings of the preceding period. The profound philosophy which Jonathan Edwards applied to theology, the popular preaching of George Whitefield, had aroused the thought and stirred the people of the Colonies in preparation for this great event. No doubt the speculations which had been going on in England, and especially on the Continent, lent their influence to the general sentiment of the times. Of course, the world is always influenced by all the experience and all the thought of the past. But when e to a contemplation of the immediate conception of the principles of human relationship which went into the Declaration of Independence we are not required to extend our search beyond our own shores. They are found in the texts, the sermons, and the writings of the early colonial clergy who were earnestly undertaking to instruct their congregations in the great mystery of how to live. They preached equality because they believed in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. They justified freedom by the text that we are all created in the divine image, all partakers of the divine spirit.”

5. “Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man — these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions. They belong to the unseen world. Unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish. We can not continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.”

6. “Our forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of action which have been a great blessing to the world. Before we can understand their conclusions we must go back and review the course which they followed. We must think the thoughts which they thought. Their intellectual life centered around the meeting-house. They were intent upon religious worship. While there were always among them men of deep learning, and later those who paratively large possessions, the mind of the people was not so much engrossed in how much they knew, or how much they had, as in how they were going to live. While scantily provided with other literature, there was a wide acquaintance with the Scriptures. Over a period as great as that which measures the existence of our independence they were subject to this discipline not only in their religious life and educational training, but also in their political thought. They were a people who came under the influence of a great spiritual development and acquired a great moral power. No other theory is adequate to explain prehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual insight of the people.”

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
PBS carries an anti-socialist documentary…from Sweden (video)
Americans tend to see Sweden as a democratic socialist utopia, although the nation changed course decisively two decades ago. A White House report, “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” debunked the notion of enduring Nordic socialism, and now PBS has aired a documentary produced by a Swedish free-market leader intended to dispel popular American falsehoods about his home country. Johan Norberg, a Stockholm native and senior fellow at the Cato Institute, produced the program Sweden: Lessons for America to clear the...
5 facts about Reformation Day
While most people know today as Halloween, for millions of Christians October 31, 2018 is also the 501st anniversary of Reformation Day. Here are five facts about the Protestant holiday: 1. Reformation Day celebrates Martin Luther’s nailing his ninety-five theses to the church door Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. (Some scholars debate whether he posted them to the door then, later in November, or whether he even posted them at all.) By posting them to the church door—which was...
Radio Free Acton: The story of Arthur Vandenberg; Russell Kirk’s horror fiction
On this episode of Radio Free Acton, Gleaves Whitney, Director of Grand Valley State University’s Howenstein Center for Presidential Studies, talks with Hank Meijer, Co-Chairman and CEO of US supermarket chain Meijer, about the story of Arthur Vandenberg (1884-1951), a US senator from Michiganwho became one of the founders of modern US foreign policy. Then, Bruce Edward Walker speaks with Ben Lockerd, Professor of English at Grand Valley State University, about the horror fiction of Russell Kirk. Check out these...
In the wake of socialism, Venezuela’s black-market capitalists meet community needs
The Venezuelan people continue to struggle and sufferunder the weight of severe socialist policies—facing increased poverty and hunger, swelling suicide rates, and widespread social unrest. Yet even as its president admits to anationwide economic emergency, the government continues to celebrate the very drivers behind the collapse,blaminglow oil prices and “global capitalism,” instead. Meanwhile, amid the turmoil and desperation, Venezuela’s localcapitalism is beginning to emerge as a solution to the woes of socialism. According to Patricia Laya at Bloomberg, the country...
The economy is booming! Or is it?
The economy is booming. Since the market crash in 2008, the rate of unemployment is at an all-time low, with the latest study showing an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent. In the second quarter of 2018, GDP increased 4.2 percent and in the third quarter, 3.5 percent. While all of these are sure signs that the economy is doing well, some problems remain, and it doesn’t look like they’ll go away any time soon. In a new article written for...
Rev. Robert Sirico on the eternal significance of work
At Acton’s 28th Annual Dinner, Rev. Robert A. Sirico, co-founder and president of the Acton Institute, spoke about the eternal significance of work. Sirico states that serving God and participating in the market are not separate efforts. Rather, engagement in the market can lead to generosity, service, and the reduction of poverty. Work, too, should be seen as bringing more than just profit to people’s lives. “This mundane existence,” says Sirico, “whereby people earn sufficient resources to support their families,...
Are we undercounting the number of unemployed?
Note: This is post #99 in a weekly video series on basic economics. The official unemployment rate in the U.S. only counts adults who are without a job and have actively looked for work within the past four weeks. Does this mean that unemployment is undercounted? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok explains that while the official unemployment rate may not be perfect, it does provide us with a good indicator of the state of the...
Jaime Balmes: A Liberal-Conservative?
This article is written by León M. Gómez Rivas and translated by Joshua Gregor. It was originally published by RedFloridaBlanca and is republished with permission. Fr. Jaime Balmes It was with great pleasure that I received the invitation to contribute to this memorative series on a great Catalonian—and therefore Spanish—thinker of the 19th century. I have before me the previous entries by Josep Castellà and Alejandro Chafuen (who kindly cites mentary I wrote for the Juan de Mariana Institute, in...
Event: A Kuyperian Response to the Crisis in the Public Square
Every lightning-fast news cycle highlights the turmoil and tension of our current age. Cultures are clashing both in Europe and in the United States as refugees from the Middle East and Central America seek asylum. Americans are deeply polarized. Political dialogue has e toxic. Sometimes the very foundations of a free and open society are met with deep skepticism in the popular media and throughout the larger culture. In order to address these significant issues, the Acton Institute is hosting...
FAQ: UK budget 2018, the end of austerity?
“Austerity ing to an end,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced as he unveiled a budget laden with significant spending increases before the UK Parliament this afternoon. Here are the facts you need to know: What are the total numbers? The budget includes £842 billion in Total Managed Expenditure (TME) for 2019-2020. Borrowing during the same time will reach £31.8 billion. Government spending will remain at a projected 38 percent of GDP for the next five years. “Over the...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved