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| (President Andrew Jackson) |
According to conservapedia.com, Jackson’s wife was “a devout Baptist.” Wikipedia
reports that Jackson’s parents were Scots-Irish Presbyterians who emigrated to America two years before Jackson’s birth. Although Jackson didn’t officially join a church until later in life, he wrote in an
1835 letter: “I was
brought up a rigid Presbyterian, to which I have always adhered.”
Although he adhered to Presbyterianism in his personal life, he also adhered to a strict separation between church and state. When the Reformed Church of North America requested that President Jackson declare a “day of fasting, humiliation,
and prayer,” Jackson refused on the grounds that doing so might “in some degree disturb the security which religion nowadays enjoys in this country in its complete separation from the political concerns of the General Government.”
Just as he compartmentalized religion and politics, he also compartmentalized religion and certain aspects of social justice. For example,
adherents.com reports that Jackson did not see a conflict between his religious beliefs and his strong support for both slavery and the exile of Native Americans. (This was
somewhat a product of the times – times in which many a professed Christian utilized the Bible to justify domination over non-Christian minority groups.)
During Jackson’s final illness, he clung tenaciously to his faith. A week before
his death, he stated: “When I have suffered sufficiently, the Lord will then take me to himself
– but what are all my sufferings compared to those of the blessed Saviour…” His
last words were these: Oh, do not cry – be good
children and we will all meet in heaven.
Resources
http://www.adherents.com/people/pj/Andrew_Jackson.html
http://conservapedia.com/Andrew_Jackson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson
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