Yes, the letter to the Danbury Baptists is taken way out of context today. It NEVER was made to construct a "censorship of religious expression" in either private or public settings. It's main construct was to say that a governmental body should not show preference (in this case one denomination over another which would dictate a "state sponsored establishment") to one particular body of believers as did the Church of England (and persecuted all who differed or dissented). This was one of the main premises of finding the "New World" and to establish religious freedom (not banning religion in the public sector). This premise is supported by over 150 years of both public displays and case law. So, to use this as an "edict to restrict" public religious expression is would have been anathema to the Founders. The same people who safeguarded those expressions in the First Amendment for both believers and non-believers and to allow other religions to practice in our country were mostly religious people (mainly Christians). There was only one Deist who signed the Declaration and two that contributed to the Constitution. They are: Religious Affiliation of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Religious Affiliation # of signers % of signers Episcopalian/Anglican 32 57.1% Congregationalist 13 23.2% Presbyterian 12 21.4% Quaker 2 3.6% Unitarian or Universalist 2 3.6% Catholic 1 1.8% TOTAL 56 100% Name of Signer State Religious Affiliation Charles Carroll Maryland Catholic Samuel Huntington Connecticut Congregationalist Roger Sherman Connecticut Congregationalist William Williams Connecticut Congregationalist Oliver Wolcott Connecticut Congregationalist Lyman Hall Georgia Congregationalist Samuel Adams Massachusetts Congregationalist John Hancock Massachusetts Congregationalist Josiah Bartlett New Hampshire Congregationalist William Whipple New Hampshire Congregationalist William Ellery Rhode Island Congregationalist John Adams Massachusetts Congregationalist; Unitarian Robert Treat Paine Massachusetts Congregationalist; Unitarian George Walton Georgia Episcopalian John Penn North Carolina Episcopalian George Ross Pennsylvania Episcopalian Thomas Heyward Jr. South Carolina Episcopalian Thomas Lynch Jr. South Carolina Episcopalian Arthur Middleton South Carolina Episcopalian Edward Rutledge South Carolina Episcopalian Francis Lightfoot Lee Virginia Episcopalian Richard Henry Lee Virginia Episcopalian George Read Delaware Episcopalian Caesar Rodney Delaware Episcopalian Samuel Chase Maryland Episcopalian William Paca Maryland Episcopalian Thomas Stone Maryland Episcopalian Elbridge Gerry Massachusetts Episcopalian Francis Hopkinson New Jersey Episcopalian Francis Lewis New York Episcopalian Lewis Morris New York Episcopalian William Hooper North Carolina Episcopalian Robert Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian John Morton Pennsylvania Episcopalian Stephen Hopkins Rhode Island Episcopalian Carter Braxton Virginia Episcopalian Benjamin Harrison Virginia Episcopalian Thomas Nelson Jr. Virginia Episcopalian George Wythe Virginia Episcopalian Thomas Jefferson Virginia Episcopalian (Deist) Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Episcopalian (Deist) Button Gwinnett Georgia Episcopalian; Congregationalist James Wilson Pennsylvania Episcopalian; Presbyterian Joseph Hewes North Carolina Quaker, Episcopalian George Clymer Pennsylvania Quaker, Episcopalian Thomas McKean Delaware Presbyterian Matthew Thornton New Hampshire Presbyterian Abraham Clark New Jersey Presbyterian John Hart New Jersey Presbyterian Richard Stockton New Jersey Presbyterian John Witherspoon New Jersey Presbyterian William Floyd New York Presbyterian Philip Livingston New York Presbyterian James Smith Pennsylvania Presbyterian George Taylor Pennsylvania Presbyterian Benjamin Rush Pennsylvania Presbyterian The signers of the Declaration of Independence were a profoundly intelligent, religious and ethically-minded group. Four of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were current or former full-time preachers, and many more were the sons of clergymen. Other professions held by signers include lawyers, merchants, doctors and educators. These individuals, too, were for the most part active churchgoers and many contributed significantly to their churches both with contributions as well as their service as lay leaders. The signers were members of religious denominations at a rate that was significantly higher than average for the American Colonies during the late 1700s. Religious Affiliation of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, including the Signers of the Constitution of the United States of America There were 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 at which the U.S. Constitution was drafted and signed. All participated in the proceedings which resulted in the Constitution, but only 39 of these delegates were actually signers of the document. From: Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the Constitution: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution, published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1976), page 138: Most of the [signers of the Constitution] married and fathered children. Sherman sired the largest family, numbering 15 by two wives... Three (Baldwin, Gilman, and Jenifer) were lifetime bachelors. In terms of religious affiliation, the men mirrored the overwhelmingly Protestant character of American religious life at the time and were members of various denominations. Only two, Carroll and Fitzsimons, were Roman Catholics. Religious Affiliation # of delegates % of delegates Episcopalian/Anglican 31 56.4% Presbyterian 16 29.1% Congregationalist 8 14.5% Quaker 3 5.5% Catholic 2 3.6% Methodist 2 3.6% Lutheran 2 3.6% Dutch Reformed 2 3.6% TOTAL 55 100% Name of Signer State Religious Affiliation Daniel Carroll Maryland Catholic Thomas Fitzsimons Pennsylvania Catholic Roger Sherman Connecticut Congregationalist Nathaniel Gorham Massachusetts Congregationalist John Langdon New Hampshire Congregationalist Nicholas Gilman New Hampshire Congregationalist Abraham Baldwin Georgia Congregationalist; Episcopalian William Samuel Johnson Connecticut Episcopalian; Presbyterian James Madison Jr. Virginia Episcopalian George Read Delaware Episcopalian Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Maryland Episcopalian David Brearly New Jersey Episcopalian Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. North Carolina Episcopalian Robert Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian Gouverneur Morris Pennsylvania Episcopalian John Rutledge South Carolina Episcopalian Charles Cotesworth Pinckney South Carolina Episcopalian Charles Pinckney South Carolina Episcopalian Pierce Butler South Carolina Episcopalian George Washington Virginia Episcopalian Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Episcopalian (Deist) William Blount North Carolina Episcopalian; Presbyterian James Wilson Pennsylvania Episcopalian; Presbyterian Rufus King Massachusetts Episcopalian; Congregationalist Jacob Broom Delaware Lutheran