Religion and politics is an issue that has been of great concern when political research is concerned. There are many arguments about the religious stands of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is seen to be religious and yet he did not acknowledge being part of any religious affiliation in his life. In his life as a young man, Lincoln is known to have adopted “the Doctrine of Necessity’(Winger 3). This is what he used to call in his tentative years. One of the famous quotes that are associated with Lincoln concerning this issue is “that the human mind is compelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control”. In this excerpt, Lincoln is seen to acknowledge the presence of superpower that controls everything in the universe. In a close examination of his life, it is evident that Christianity played a crucial part in his life. His father was a member of Regular Baptist churches which are located in Kentucky, Indiana. It is also noted that Lincoln read the Bible most part of his life and quoted from it extensively. While was the president, he attended New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. His family was hugely religious. It has been argued that the reason why he did not get affiliated with particular denominations is that he did not want to be part of the rivalry between denominations in Kentucky.
This paper will focus on the religious views of Abraham Lincoln. It will assess the implications that religion had in his life and the legacy he left regarding religion. The paper will make use of literature review from various scholars and will analyze the different perspectives of this matter to the life of Lincoln. The paper will serve to bring boundary that religion had in the life of Lincoln and the impact it has on the governance and religion that we have in the world today. Religion and politics are two important aspects in any government. There is a need to have a balance between these two delicate matters in any country.
The issue of law and religion and which of these two Lincoln considered more important than the other is important in this paper. With the religious quotations that Abraham Lincoln had, it is evident that he valued law as he considered human reasoning when compared to religion(Herndon 34). Lincoln sanctioned the religion’s political utility of while nurturing ethos of self-discipline and a virtue of selflessness. These were the qualities of building a nation of self-government and citizenry governed by morals. He acknowledged the destructive nature of having a religion and a government which was authoritarian. Morel acknowledged that Lincoln acknowledged the importance religion beyond the utility of the political undertaking. This means that religion was important than law in his arguments. According to Morel, Lincoln considered that religion a government which is free are the means to the same end. This is the happiness of an individual and the well-being of people in the society(Carwardine 28). These were of utmost importance to the life of Lincoln. In this regard, Lincoln treated religion as the same equal to the government and both deserved equal respect. Since a government is formed through laws, this means that he treated laws and religion to be the equal. Lincoln respected religion for its own sake. This is seen in how he protected and accommodated religion while in public. According to him, religion provided and gave way for the happiness of many individuals in their lives.
Comparison of different literary works
In a letter that was written by Mr. Herndon in 1870, Herndon states that the mind of Mr. Lincoln was purely logical and practical(Herndon 23). It is believed that he did not have any imaginations and emotions. Lincoln is seen to be more of a realist than an idealist. This is evident in the way he acted in most of the things and beliefs that he had. He did not believe on any work that did not base on demonstration. According to Herndon, Lincoln was abstract, did not socialize freely and was skeptic in most things he undertook. These were the attributes that were evident while he was in Kentucky as a young boy. These qualities became evident as he grew to be an adult. This was the place that Lincoln met a class of men who had different minds. Lincoln is seen to be part of a group of men who were in their own class. They were men with large minds and bodies and believed in anything that could be demonstrated. He is regarded to be someone who could not be fooled often and believed in practical things. The issue of law and religion to him is something of utmost importance. He was bold, daring and reckless in most of the things that this class did. This class of people believed in common sense. Lincoln spent most of his time with these men and became part of their circles. This class of people was skeptics. This group of people protested against the faults that came from Christianity(Morel 15).
This group of people had their own free way of thinking. One of the beliefs that this class of people had is that Jesus was an illegitimate child. In most of the situations and free time, they would debate on the various issues regarding Christianity. They believed on common logic and common sense. No one could argue against what they believed in their lives. Their arguments and beliefs were rude but no one could overthrow their logic which was basic. They were taken to be unbelievers and skeptics.
While with this class of people, Lincoln came across Volney’s Ruins and some work of theology by Paine. He used the ideas of Paine to be his own ideas. These two literary works became part of Lincoln’s life from 1934 to the end of his life. In the year 1935, Herdon William claims that Lincoln wrote some work regarding infidelity and wanted this work to get published. This book was an attack about the whole grounds of Christianity and the aspects of the Christian beliefs. The book was an attack to the Christian belief that Jesus was the only Messiah and the true son of God. Lincoln is claimed to have attacked these Christian ideologies. During this time, Lincoln was in New Salem as a store keeper for Hill Samuel. Samuel Hill was a postmaster and a merchant of that particular location. They became good friends. One day, Lincoln read this book to Mr. Hill. Hill was concerned about the content of the book regarding Christianity and, therefore, implored Lincoln not to publish the book. Lincoln was determined to publish the book and have it see the light of the day. In this argument, Hill got hold of the book and burned it. This was the end of the book. For those who were able to have the book, they argue that the book showed the real attitude and belief of Lincoln regarding Christianity(Winger 23).
Comparing Herdon’s work with most of the speeches of Lincoln, they seem to be contradicting. This is because of the fact that Lincoln quoted the bible in most of the speeches that he made. In 1837, Lincoln moved to Ohio and met men who regarded to themselves as freethinkers. Herdon argues that Lincoln became part of this group of people and moved in together. Lincoln is said to have assimilated all the arguments that the free thinking men had. It was with these men that he met with Hume and Gibbon. They had published other works and he assimilated these works. Lincoln argued basing on these arguments and believed all these issues and arguments without accepting. Lincoln believed that there was no god and he regarded himself as an infidel. When he ran for legislature in this period, he was accused as an infidel and that he denied that there was God. Being a true man, he did not deny these allegations but instead accepted them. His religious beliefs and inclinations were very low. When he was gloomy and down, he is seen to have sometimes denied the existence of God(Bellah 23).
Herdon still goes ahead and argues that when Lincoln went to Washington City, his religious beliefs had not yet changed. He still abhorred Christianity and the belief that God would forgive a sinner the sins they have committed. He believed that God could not forgive and that there was no forgiveness for man. He argued that man could perish in sin and that the forgiveness was not practical in normal life. He argued that the teaching of forgiveness by Christianity was wrong and should not be advocated. From this work, it is argued that Lincoln did not believe on the existence of God and that the Bible was a special revelation that God used to communicate with man. He rubbished these claims and did not hold them with any esteem. He regarded them to be baseless and lacked proper judgments(Lincoln 2).
In his letters, if he could be asked if there is a God in existence, it is argued that he would have answered that he does not know if there is a God. While Herdon was preparing a speech that Lincoln could deliver in Kansas, there was a phrase that invoked God. Lincoln ordered that this phrase be erased. He ordered that God be replaced with Maker. This, he argued, is a norm and direct association with the universe. When he went to Washington, he also ordered a friend to wipe the word God and replace it with Maker. Maker was more of a common principle of the universe. The more Lincoln lived, the more he was inclined to invoking God. He believed that man makes conditions and not conditions making a man. Lincoln would wait for flow of events and logic. Lincoln did not believe in the efficacy of prayers in his life. One of the arguments that show this is that God has his own purposes. His argument with this is of God has his own purposes, and then prayer will not change purpose of God. Herndon also argued Lincoln was a scientific materialist. He was contended that Universal laws ruled the universe and not arguments that he could not prove with his rationality(Herndon 23).
The works of Mark Noll portrays Lincoln as someone who had another form of religion. He was fond of reading the Bible while in White House but was not fond of saying the grace before he had his meals. He was fond of quoting from the Bible, especially from Psalms, Isaiah and the New Testament. He was seen to be having many attributes in his life. From most of the speeches that he had, he is depicted to be a man who recognized the role that religion played in life. Lincoln’s source of Christian’s perception is hard to be traced. This perception and relation is something that cannot be doubted for a moment. In his second inaugural address in 1865, he is seen to have acknowledged the fact that Christianity was present. He stated that “Both [North and south] read the same Bible and pray to the same God”. This shows the extent in which he believed in the existence of Christianity. This could be attributed to the belief that he had regarding the happiness of man. He believed that man should be happy in all they do and this could be drawn from the religion they practice(Morel 23).
Conclusion
The life of Lincoln is seen to be religious with his works. From his speeches, he is seen to be someone who had a lot knowledge regarding religion. Lincoln is seen to be religious and yet he did not acknowledge being part of any religious affiliation in his life.
Works Cited
Bellah, RN. “Civil Religion in America.” Daedalus (1967): n. pag. Web. 24 June 2013.
Carwardine, RJ. “Lincoln, Evangelical Religion, and American Political Culture in the Era of the Civil War.” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association (1997): n. pag. Web. 24 June 2013.
Herndon, William. “Abraham Lincoln’s Religious Views.” Index 1.2 (1870): n. pag.
Lincoln, B. “Notes Toward a Theory of Religion and Revolution.” Bruce Lincoln (1985): n. pag. Web. 24 June 2013.
Morel, Lucas. “Lincoln’s Sacred Effort: Defining Religion's Role in American Self-Government.” Journal of Abraham Lincoln Association 23.1 (2002): n. pag.
Winger, SL. “Lincoln, Religion, and Romantic Cultural Politics.” (2003): n. pag. Web. 24 June 2013.
