Posted by Eugene Volokh:
The Declaration of Independence and God:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_11_16-2008_11_22.shtml#1227043355
A conversation I had today reminded me of something I meant to blog
about: The Declaration of Independence, many argue, contemplates a
Creator God, not a God who sets forth rules for human behavior, who
judges such behavior, or who intercedes in human events, whether
directly or subtly. And this, the argument goes, reflects the general
attitudes of the Framers or at least of the political system they
wished to establish.
But I don't think this is a sound way of reading the Declaration. It's
true that the opening paragraphs refer to "Nature's God" and a
"Creator":
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them
with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.
But even this Creator of course is seen as endowing people with
"unalienable Rights," which seems to suggest a Creator as arbiter of
morality and rights. And, more importantly, consider the closing
paragraph:
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America,
in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of
the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and
by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish
and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to
be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection
between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be
totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they
have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances,
establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which
Independent States may of right do. -- And for the support of this
Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our
Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
God is thus not just Nature's God and the Creator, but also the
"Supreme Judge of the world," to whom people may appeal to judge or
witness "the rectitude of [their] intentions," and whose "Divine
Providence" is said to "protect[]" them."
To be sure, one can only draw so much from a single historical
document; for instance, it's possible that particular references in
the document were seen as largely rhetorical flourishes (though I'm
not sure that this is so, since my sense is that very many educated
Americans of the Framing generation did indeed have a pretty
conventional understanding of God as creator, judge, and source of
protection). But those who focus on the Creator and Nature's God
language in the document do often try to draw something from that one
document. And if we look to the document, we see it discussing God as
judge and protector, and not just God as creator.
I should note that I say all this as a secular person; it's not that I
want the Declaration to reflect this sort of religious sensibility --
I'm just reporting on the sensibility that it appears to me to in fact
reflect.
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