Recent Read--Benjamin Franklin:The Religious Life of a Founding Father

As an academic, it's probably not terribly surprising that one of my favorite pastimes is reading. I recently completed reading a spiritual biography of one of America's founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. This particular work was written by the eminent Baylor historian, Thomas S. Kidd, who has written extensively on the era of the American Revolution.

In his Autobiography, which is itself an interesting read, Franklin claimed to be a deist. Deism was a term that could describe a range of religious or irreligious beliefs. Franklin called for prayer at the Constitutional Convention, which would indicate that he believed that God was active in human affairs. This contrasts with the commonly taught depiction of deism as a "religion" that viewed God as a cosmic clock maker who built the universe and then stepped away and allowed it to run according to natural law. 

Kidd argues in the introduction of his work that Franklin was one of the first to follow a moralistic, doctrine-free form of Christianity that is common in much of American life. Kidd then pointed to Joel Osteen and Oprah Winfrey as a couple of modern-day examples of this religious point of view. 

This book draws extensively from the Autobiography as a source of Franklin's beliefs, but it goes into many other sources such as his other publications and correspondence. Franklin, who grew up in a staunchly Puritan home, was far from orthodox in his beliefs. While he believed in a deity who superintended over human affairs, he questioned many of the tenets of orthodox Christology. 

Kidd points out quite well that Franklin had little interest in Christian doctrine. He was more concerned with action than belief. This action usually involved the service of others, and Franklin undertook such activities for the public good. These included the foundation of the Philadelphia Academy (forerunner of the University of Pennsylvania) and one of the first public libraries in the American colonies.

This book included an assessment of Franklin's correspondence with evangelicals such as his sister Jane Mecom an the noted evangelist George Whitefield, the subject of another work by Kidd. Franklin was not above making money publishing both Whitefield's works as well as documents that criticized the English divine. Both Mecom and Whitefield frequently questioned Franklin regarding the state of his soul, to no avail. Franklin would go to his grave maintaining his unorthodox beliefs.

Overall, this is a very engaging read that utilizes a range of primary sources to craft an interesting analysis of Ben Franklin's religious beliefs and how they changed over time (he appeared to in some ways become less skeptical over time). It contextualizes Franklin's life in the social and religious milieu of his day.

Thomas S. Kidd, Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).