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Why Was Washington Not Christian

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This aversion to overtly claiming Christianity as his religion could have been due to many factors. The more skeptical view is that Washington did not want to claim he was Christian because he was actually not Christian. However, this theory has several flaws. First is Washington’s religious history and his church attendance which, all though intermittent at times, was maintained throughout his life. The second is that Washington was a man of conviction, and he consistently demonstrated that he was willing to do what he believed was right. It is not in line with his character that he would have attended Church specifically to deceive people into believing he was Christian. The more likely reason Washington did not publicly accept Christianity is because of his believe in religious freedom. It is possible that he believed referencing Christianity, or publicly stating his belief in it, could ostracize the people of America who were not Christian. While it is not possible to know Washington’s true reasons for avoiding publicly stating he was Christian, the evidence counters the …show more content…

Because Weems in his book references extensive research he did, and claims conversing with many members of Washington’s churches, it is presumable that he did, at the very least, hear about instances of Washington not taking communion. However, Weems chose not to include this in his book, as it did not help to paint Washington as a devoted Christian. It also could be argued that the inclusion of such information would do little more than confuse the reader. This is because, despite the fact that there are many theories, there is no concrete explanation for why Washington refused to take communion, therefore only unanswered questions would be raised. This issue is another instance of not clearly defining Washington as Christian or not

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