Was George Washington a Deist?
“Washington was a member of the Anglican Church, which had ‘established status’ in Virginia (meaning tax money was used to pay its minister). He was a member of and served on the vestry (governing board) for Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia and for Pohick Church near his Mount Vernon home until the war began; however the parish was the unit of local government and the vestry dealt mostly with civic affairs such as roads and poor relief. According to historian Paul F. Boller Jr., Washington practically speaking was a Deist who had a profound belief and faith in “Divine Providence” or a higher “Divine Will” derived from a “Supreme Being” who controlled human events and as in Calvinism the course of history followed an orderly pattern rather than mere chance. In 1789, Washington claimed that the “Author of the Universe” actively interposed in favor of the American Revolution. However, according to Boller, Washington never made attempts to personalize his own religious views or expres
