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| Theodore Roosevelt (Public Domain) |
Although many people equate religion with adhering staunchly to a particular denomination, Theodore Roosevelt apparently did not.
Raised in the Dutch Reformed Church, Roosevelt considered it to be his “home base.” Nevertheless, he often attended Episcopalian churches, sometimes when there was no Dutch Reformed Church nearby, and often because this was his wife’s affiliation.
The following TR quotation indicates his religious flexibility: When I first came to Washington, I did not know there was any
Dutch Reformed Church there, and went with
my wife to the Episcopal Church…
Hollowverse.com explains that Roosevelt was also a champion of overall religious freedom. In a 1908 letter defending Taft’s family ties to Catholicism, Roosevelt wrote: To discriminate against a thoroughly upright citizen
because he belongs to some particular Church… is an outrage
against the liberty of conscience which is one of the
foundations of American life.
Roosevelt also supported interfaith rights. In his 1904 State of the Union Address, Roosevelt condemned Russia’s treatment of the Jews and “called for tolerance and equality of all races, religions and creeds.”
Resources
http://hollowverse.com/theodore-roosevelt/
Copyright September 24, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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