Faith of our Fathers

Presidential Faiths and Public Theology

Greetings,

Here you will find my Doctor of Ministry portfolio that serves as the capstone to my program of study. You can select each United States President to learn more about their time in office, their administration’s accomplishments, and how their theological outlook reflects their domestic agenda and foreign policy. This is also in podcast format that is on the page, along with being able to find it by clicking here. Please also be sure to check out the interviews I conducted with denominational experts exploring the denominations of the United States Presidents.

I am grateful for you taking the time to check out this portfolio. On a personal level it gave me great joy to create and think through. Furthermore, I learned so much more a topic I am deeply passionate about.

In hope,

Rob

The Rev. Robert W. Lee, MTS

Doctoral Candidate, The Pacific School of Religion

Fall 2023

A Capstone Portfolio by the Rev. Robert W. Lee, MTS

In partial completion of the Doctor of Ministry Degree at Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California.

Check out So Help Me Pod on YouTube or our Podcast Directory.

Database of The Theologies of the American Presidency

  • President George Washington

    1st President of the United States

    Served from 1789-1797

    Anglican/Deist

  • President John Adams

    2nd President of the United States

    Served from 1797-1801

    Unitarian

  • President Thomas Jefferson

    3rd President of the United States

    Served from 1801-1809

    Deist/Unaffiliated

  • President James Madison

    4th President of the United States

    Served from 1809-1817

    Episcopalian

  • President James Monroe

    5th President of the United States

    Served from 1817-1825

    Episcopalian

  • President John Quincy Adams

    6th President of the United States

    Served from 1825-1829

    Unitarian

  • President Andrew Jackson

    7th President of the United States

    Served from 1829-1837

    Presbyterian

  • President Martin Van Buren

    8th President of the United States

    Served from 1837-1841

    Dutch Reformed

  • President William Henry Harrison

    9th President of the United States

    Served 1841

    Episcopalian

  • President John Tyler

    10th President of the United States

    Served from 1841-1845

    Episcopalian

  • President James K. Polk

    11th President of the United States

    Served from 1845-1849

    Methodist

  • President Zachary Taylor

    12th President of the United States

    Served 1849-1850

    Episcopalian

  • President Millard Fillmore

    13th President of the United States

    Served from 1850-1853

    Unitarian

  • President Franklin Pierce

    14th President of the United States

    Served from 1804-1869

    Episcopalian

  • President James Buchanan

    15th President of the United States

    Served from 1857-1861

    Presbyterian

  • President Abraham Lincoln

    16th President of the United States

    Served from 1861-1865

    Unaffiliated

  • President Andrew Johnson

    17th President of the United States

    Served from 1865-1869

    Unaffiliated

  • President Ulysses S. Grant

    18th President of the United States

    Served from 1869-1877

    Methodist

  • President Rutherford B. Hayes

    19th President of the United States

    Served from 1877-1881

    Unaffiliated

  • President James A. Garfield

    20th President of the United States

    Served 1881

    Disciples of Christ

  • President Chester A. Arthur

    21st President of the United States

    Served 1881-1885

    Episcopalian

  • President Grover Cleveland

    22nd President of the United States

    Served from 1885-1889

    Presbyterian

  • President Benjamin Harrison

    23rd President of the United States

    Served from 1889-1893

    Presbyterian

  • President Grover Cleveland

    24th President of the United States*

    Served from 1893-1897 (Second Term)

    Presbyterian

  • President William McKinley

    25th President of the United States

    Served from 1897-1901

    Methodist

  • President Theodore Roosevelt

    26th President of the United States

    Served from 1901-1909

    Dutch Reformed

  • President William Howard Taft

    27th President of the United States

    Served from 1909-1913

    Unitarian

  • President Woodrow Wilson

    28th President of the United States

    Served from 1913-1921

    Presbyterian

  • President Warren G. Harding

    29th President of the United States

    Served from 1921-1923

    American Baptist

  • President Calvin Coolidge

    30th President of the United States

    Served from 1923-1929

    Congregationalist

  • President Herbert Hoover

    31st President of the United States

    Served from 1929-1933

    Quaker

  • President Franklin Roosevelt

    32nd President of the United States

    Served from 1933-1945

    Episcopalian

  • President Harry S. Truman

    33rd President of the United States

    Served from 1945-1953

    American Baptist

  • President Dwight Eisenhower

    34th President of the United States

    Served from 1953-1961

    Presbyterian

  • President John F. Kennedy

    35th President of the United States

    Served from 1961-1963

    Roman Catholic

  • President Lyndon B. Johnson

    36th President of the United States

    Served from 1963-1969

    Disciples of Christ

  • President Richard M. Nixon

    37th President of the United States

    Served from 1969-1974

    Quaker

  • President Gerald R. Ford

    38th President of the United States

    Served from 1974-1977

    Episcopalian

  • President Jimmy Carter

    39th President of the United States

    Served from 1977-1981

    Baptist

  • President Ronald Reagan

    40th President of the United States

    Served 1981-1989

    Presbyterian

  • President George H. W. Bush

    41st President of the United States

    Served from 1989-1993

    Episcopalian

  • President Bill Clinton

    42nd President of the United States

    Served from 1993-2001

    Baptist

  • President George W. Bush

    43rd President of the United States

    Served from 2001-2009

    United Methodist

  • President Barack Obama

    44th President of the United States

    Served from 2009-2017

    United Church of Christ/Unaffiliated

  • President Donald J. Trump

    45th President of the United States

    Served from 2017-2021

    Non-Denominational

  • President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

    46th President of the United States

    Served from 2021-Present

    Roman Catholic