What is the meaning of this Ben Franklin quote 'Lighthouses are more helpful then churches'?

Answer 1

One View:

Ben wasn't so christian at all... That's why he wanted the separation of church and state so badly. He and many of the others founding fathers where, lets just say "not too christian" like for example Jefferson made his own bible where he took out all the super-duper miracles of Jesus and put just the moral teachings.

3Students

Another View:

Dealing with that quote specifically, you will NOT find an original source. It is taken out of context and misquoted to support the liberal and secular views. All research points to "The writings of Benjamin Franklin" being the origin, and you can see how it is misquoted now.

Here is the excerpt:

When he narrowly escaped shipwreck and death upon the Cornish rocks near Falmouth Harbor, he wrote to his wife: "Were I a Roman Catholic perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint; but as I am not, if I were to vow at all it should be to build a lighthouse."

Although Franklin was one of the least religious of the Founding Fathers, in his 1749 plan for education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted the schools teach, "the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern.

Franklin called for the establishment of chaplains and daily prayer at the Constitutional Convention. He was also quoted: " God governs in the affairs of man. 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 in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel" --Constitutional Convention of 1787 | original manuscript of this speech

As well as saying: "In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered... do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?" [Constitutional Convention, Thursday June 28, 1787]

The phrase "separation of church and state" does not exist in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. The 1st amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..." This is saying that the government will not establish a "state" religion as what had happened in Europe and the govt. will not interfere in religious affairs. The Danbury Baptist were concerned that this even appeared in the Bill of Rights, so they wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson (president then). They were worried that govt. later could or would make laws in relation to religion. Jefferson assured them this would not happen and that there was a "wall of separation between church and state." Hence keeping govt. out of the church.

In 1853, a group tried to "flip" Jefferson's meaning. Congress spent a year debating and concluded in 1854 that any attempt to war against Christianity would have been strangled by the Founders. They said Christianity should be encouraged, just not any particular denomination. They said there is no substitute for Christianity since it was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants. This was backed up by the Supreme Court in 1878 and again in 1892 when the Supreme Court declared that we are a religious nation, a Christian nation.

For nearly two centuries, "separation of church and state" was intended to keep the govt. out of religion. It was an institutional separation, NOT a influential separation. This view did not change until 1947 Everson vs. Board of Education. Then in 1962 Engel vs. Vitale, the courts redefined the word "church" in that infamous phrase. "Church" meant any one denomination for nearly 200 years, but now meant any religious activity performed in public.

Founding Fathers actually very religious. The least religious (Jefferson, Franklin, Madison) of the Founders would be considered Bible Thumping Evangelicals by today's standards.

kmillsnky

Another view:

The view of the Founding Fathers was based upon Enlightenment principles that allowed for a flourishing religious as well as a non-religious pluralism (it accommodated deists, who were even derogatorily called "atheists"). The reason the Constitution has no reference to God or Jesus is intentional: only secular government representation is neutral. The Constitution could have started with "under God" or "By the Will of God," with religious language like the failed Articles of the Confederation, etc., but it didn't. Instead it started with "We the People." Enlightenment thinking. Whether or not and to what degree the Founders were themselves religious/Christian is of no importance, because the guiding principle in order to keep neutral religious representation was secularism in government- not for civilians, but for government. The wall of separation between church and state was based upon Jefferson's Virginia Act for Religious Freedom, which worked so well in Virginia, that it became the best model for the Federal govt. It employed religious neutrality, as in, "no comment." In regards to Franklin's request for prayer at the Constitutional Convention, he noted on his handwritten copy of the speech that, "the Convention, except three or four persons, thought prayers unnecessary." Perhaps this was the kind of thinking that influenced him to later make his statement about lighthouses.

The Treaty of Tripoli between the US and the Barbary States (drafted at the end of Washington's second term and later signed by John Adams as President) that was PROCLAIMED TO and UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY the US Senate on June 10, 1797 clearly states in Article 11: "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion…" In any sense. In ANY sense.

As per Ben Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, etc, many of the founding fathers had changing religious views throughout their lifetimes (as many of us do), which accounts for the seemingly contradictory quotes, as well as the hoards of pro-religious/anti-religious groups all claiming them for their camp. To paint them as 2 dimensionally as that is anachronistic. It is interesting though, that as most of the founders grew older and wiser (and not as in need of popular political support), they "became" more openly non-religious.