(Patrick) Henry’s most famous speech, the “Liberty or Death” oration, came in 1775 as Virginia was considering whether to take up arms in light of the British threat against American liberty. The speech, delivered at Richmond’s St. John’s Church, was a politicized version of a revival sermon

On November 1, amidst the political wrangling over jobs and deficits, the House of Representatives took thirty-five minutes to debate what may seem like a tangential issue: whether Congress would re-affirm “In God We Trust” as our national motto.

The text of the resolution called this “a principle that was venerated by the founders of this country.” Many, including President Obama, questioned the propriety of the measure in light of more pressing business, while the resolution’s defenders said that times of national turmoil were particularly apt occasions for confirming our faith in God.

Despite some grumbling, the re-affirmation passed by an overwhelming majority, and the fact that this measure would appear now shows that the question of faith and our founding remains the most controversial historical issue in American politics.

Faith. Religion. Spirituality. Meaning. In our ever-shrinking world, the tentacles of religion touch everything from governmental policy to individual morality to our basic social constructs. It affects the lives of people of great faith — or no faith at all. This series of weekly columns — launched in 2005 — seeks to illuminate the national conversation.

So was the principle “In God We Trust” really “venerated” by America’s founders? To be sure, “In God We Trust” did not become the official national motto until 1956 (although coins bore the phrase beginning in the 1860s). But did the founders strongly believe in that idea too? To an extent, answers depend on which founder you ask.

Some of the leading founders were skeptical about traditional Christianity. Benjamin Franklin, a self-described Deist, expressed doubts about basic Christian doctrines, as did Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s cut-and-paste version of the Gospels, currently on display at the Smithsonian, made clear that he saw Jesus only as a moral teacher, not the resurrected Son of God.

But if you look elsewhere among the founders, you can find plenty of evidence for traditional religious belief. Perhaps the best example of an openly conservative Christian among the major founders was Patrick Henry.

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