Faith and morality sustain families and the republic
Heritage posted Washington’s quotation on Oct. 29, linking religion and morality to political prosperity; parents’ right to raise children in faith deserves protection.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner and Joseph Coors, put George Washington’s case for faith and moral character in public life in front of its followers on X.
The X post appeared October 29, 2026, from the @Heritage account.
Washington’s words come from his Farewell Address, a political testament to the nation that the Senate Historical Office says he composed with help from Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. The same introduction says the address was designed to inspire and guide future generations1. In the line Heritage chose, Washington called religion and morality “indispensable supports” of political prosperity2. In the same passage he said even politicians should respect and cherish them[3](https://civics.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz456/files/2021-06/Q86%20Washington, %20Farewell%20Address%20(1796)_CPTL.pdf).
Washington wrote with the young Republic’s survival in view. His principal concern, the Senate Historical Office says, was the safety of the eight-year-old Constitution. The address also warned that sectional division and political faction threatened the Republic, and urged Americans to preserve national unity1.
Washington did not deliver the address publicly; it first appeared in the Philadelphia Daily American Advertiser on September 19, 1796, and was then printed in papers around the country. Congress later turned it into a civic ritual. In 1862, both houses of Congress agreed to a public reading in the House chamber on Washington’s birthday. Since 1893, the Senate has marked that birthday with a reading by a senator, alternating the assignment between political parties, and the House kept up its own reading until 19841.
Washington set his case for faith beside a case for an informed people. He argued that institutions should spread knowledge because, in a government shaped by public opinion, “it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.”[3](https://civics.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz456/files/2021-06/Q86%20Washington, %20Farewell%20Address%20(1796)_CPTL.pdf) He placed moral character and knowledge together as the work a free people must sustain.
Family Brief holds that faith belongs at the center of family life. The moral formation Washington counted among the supports of self-government begins at home, which is why religious liberty and parents’ right to raise children in their faith deserve protection.
Sources
- WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES
- @Heritage on X, 2026-10-29: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” - George Washington https://x.com/Heritage/status/2115942315046895889/photo/1, 2026-10-29
- George Washington Farewell Address; September 19, 1796
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