“Religion” has a bad name these days, but since it’s my life’s work, allow me to defend it. The word religio in Latin means “to reconnect,” from the root word “ligare.” The word we use for our “ligaments,” those essential bodily connections between bone and muscle, comes from the same root word as “religon.” We wouldn’t be able to walk without healthy ligaments, and without healthy religion, we would not be able to walk to heaven, or even to a neighbor’s home to bring a bit of good cheer.
Most people think of today’s holiday as a “civic” or “secular” holiday, and that it certainly is. It was established by George Washington, a decidedly civic leader. But he who was arguably our best president and the father of our country established this national holiday as a holyday, a day of religious observance and prayer to God. Let me cite his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789:
WHEREAS, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; WHEREAS, Both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:” Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be … and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions….”
Not only does our founding president direct us to give thanks to God, but he also urges us to supplicate His mercy for our sins.
Every year the President of the United States makes a Thanksgiving proclamation. How about this one from arguably the second greatest president, A. Lincoln. In his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1863, he directs us to beg God’s mercy even as we thank Him for our manifold blessings:
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, … needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship … population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield.… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People….
And then there are these words from the presidential proclamation of 1925, Calvin Coolidge’s Thanksgiving address 100 years ago:
The season approaches when, in accordance with a long-established and respected custom, a day is set apart to give thanks to Almighty God… Now, therefore, I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States, do hereby set apart a day of general thanksgiving and prayer…
The “long-established and respected custom” is for the leader of this nation to “set aside” (which comes from the Latin verb to sanctify) a new Thanksgiving Day each year by presidential decree. Joe Biden did that in 2024, and Donald Trump just did it in 2025. The presidential proclamations have become less overtly religious since Washington, Lincoln, and Coolidge, but they remain essentially “sacred” in the literal sense of “setting aside” a day from work in order to give thanks (to whom?).
Contrary to popular legend, Americans do not in fact pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Someone else gave us the boots, along with the straps, and someone else helps us lift ourselves up. The early presidents called that Someone “God” or “The Almighty,” and Thanksgiving was certainly established as a religious holiday. It is a civic holiday, yes, but it is religious too, because the best of our presidents were smart enough to know that we did not make ourselves. All we have, we have been given, for which we are grateful.
Most people think of today’s holiday as a “civic” or “secular” holiday, and that it certainly is. It was established by George Washington, a decidedly civic leader. But he who was arguably our best president and the father of our country established this national holiday as a holyday, a day of religious observance and prayer to God. Let me cite his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789:
WHEREAS, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; WHEREAS, Both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:” Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be … and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions….”
Not only does our founding president direct us to give thanks to God, but he also urges us to supplicate His mercy for our sins.
Every year the President of the United States makes a Thanksgiving proclamation. How about this one from arguably the second greatest president, A. Lincoln. In his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1863, he directs us to beg God’s mercy even as we thank Him for our manifold blessings:
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, … needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship … population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield.… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People….
And then there are these words from the presidential proclamation of 1925, Calvin Coolidge’s Thanksgiving address 100 years ago:
The season approaches when, in accordance with a long-established and respected custom, a day is set apart to give thanks to Almighty God… Now, therefore, I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States, do hereby set apart a day of general thanksgiving and prayer…
The “long-established and respected custom” is for the leader of this nation to “set aside” (which comes from the Latin verb to sanctify) a new Thanksgiving Day each year by presidential decree. Joe Biden did that in 2024, and Donald Trump just did it in 2025. The presidential proclamations have become less overtly religious since Washington, Lincoln, and Coolidge, but they remain essentially “sacred” in the literal sense of “setting aside” a day from work in order to give thanks (to whom?).
Contrary to popular legend, Americans do not in fact pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Someone else gave us the boots, along with the straps, and someone else helps us lift ourselves up. The early presidents called that Someone “God” or “The Almighty,” and Thanksgiving was certainly established as a religious holiday. It is a civic holiday, yes, but it is religious too, because the best of our presidents were smart enough to know that we did not make ourselves. All we have, we have been given, for which we are grateful.
"The Prayer at Valley Forge" by Arnold Friberg
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