My thanks to Jon Rowe for the very nice comments in this post, where he references some entries I wrote on the founding fathers and Christianity. He chides me for missing why the Patrick Henry quote is also fraudulent, and I have to confess that I didn't really give it much thought. The quote in question is this:
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."
Since I know far more about Jefferson, Adams and Madison than I do about Henry, I never really gave it much thought and simply assumed, like Mr. Rowe did initially, that he said that because it fit with the rest of what he believed. Patrick Henry was in favor of a mild theocracy, where everyone would be taxed to support Christian churches, and he was fought in that effort by Jefferson and Madison in particular, whose views won the day, and he was of course a very devout Christian. So I figured it made sense that he would have said it. But as Mr. Rowe points out, it is in deep conflict with other of his stated views, particularly his views on the federal government. It is highly unlikely that Henry would have used the phrase "this great nation" at the time he is alleged to have said this.
I've always noted the irony (or ignorance) of those who use this phrase by Patrick Henry to justify an accomodationist interpretation on separation of church and state, which was Henry's position. But remember that Henry opposed the Constitution and the first amendment entirely. He refused to take part in the constitutional convention and he fought against its adoption fiercely. Why on earth would his views on church/state separation, which were emphatically rejected when the first amendment was passed, have any bearing whatsoever on how that amendment should be interpreted?
At any rate, I appreciate the endorsement from Jon. By the way, having seen Jon's picture linked to from his website, it's hard to believe he teaches college rather than attending it. He wouldn't look at all out of place at a campus kegger.
The word "religionist" also sounds anachronistic.