When he was 85, Ben Franklin received a letter from Ezra Stiles, president of Yale, saying that the college was planning to honor him. Stiles asked Franklin about his religious beliefs.
Franklin replied:
Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That he governs it by his Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable Service we render to him is doing good to his other Children. That the soul of Man is immortal, and will be treated with Justice in another Life respecting its Conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental Principles of all sound Religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever Sect I meet with them.
Five beliefs — that’s it.
Stiles asked specifically what Franklin thought of Jesus. Franklin replied that he admired the teachings but doubted the divinity. He said he hadn’t studied the matter though, and, in old age and in failing health … well, the matter would presumably become clear soon enough.
Franklin also asked Stiles to keep his views confidential. Franklin didn’t want to quarrel about religion. It was his policy to contribute to all houses of worship. He didn’t care to discuss one person’s preference for one sect over another.
I think the letter is interesting for two reasons:
First, Franklin thought that religion, on balance, is a good thing. That assertion, almost universal in his day, is controversial today.
Second, Franklin’s account of his own religion fits one of my biases: That if one is going to have a religion, a little is better than a lot.
• American Heritage Magazine published the letter in December 1955 (Vol. 7, Issue 1) and posted it here:
https://www.americanheritage.com/benjamin-franklin-his-religious-faith
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