“It is time for the world to know our intellectual and spiritual values are rooted in the
source of all strength, a belief in a Supreme Being, and a law higher than our own.”
-Ronald Reagan, May 17, 1981
Faith and Ronald Reagan.
As a witness to God's grace and the fortifying power of faith, Ronald Reagan stood before the
graduating students at Notre Dame University on May 17, 1981 to deliver a moving speech which resonated
spiritually as well as politically. What did we learn about President Reagan’s faith from his thoughts on that
day? And what can we find in the Reagan Library archives on the subject of faith?
Only six weeks after the assassination attempt, our 40th president’s remarks were inspired by his
belief that, “Perhaps having come so close to death made me feel I should do whatever I could in the years
God had given made to reduce the threat of nuclear war;
perhaps there was a reason I had been spared.”
At South Bend, he deftly addressed the conflict
between one’s right to believe in God or to succumb to
communism’s atheistic prowess. Predicting the end of
Lenin’s ideology, “the West won’t contain communism,”
President Reagan proclaimed, “It will transcend
communism.” Further, he mused that history would judge if
America reached maturity by affirming “its leadership of
free men and women serving selflessly a vision of man with
God.”
To read the entire text of this speech, click here.
In his autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me?
Ronald Reagan described his mother as a "natural, practical
do-gooder.' Nelle Reagan made weekly visits to the Lincoln
Heights jail to meet with the prisoners, encouraging them
to rebuild their lives. Soon after their release, some of the
former inmates stopped by her apartment on Phyllis
Avenue just to say, "Thank you for caring.'' Her sons
reportedly worried about her safety when they learned
about these visits. She was a genuinely good woman who
cared for those who needed someone to talk to. You might
say she showered love on those whom society wanted to
forget.
In addition to her visits to the prison, Mrs. Reagan
made weekly trips to the Olive View Tuberculosis
Sanatorium with gifts of food, candy, pens and pencils for
patients. Mostly, however, her visits encouraged the sick to
maintain hope and to do all they could to help the doctors
cure them.
To read more about Nelle Reagan, click here.
“You can be too big for God to use,
but you cannot be too small.”
-Nelle Reagan
Reagan was private about his faith, yet comfortable
about expressing his loyalty to a supreme being. As early as
June 1950, when interviewed by Modern Screen Magazine,
he expressed the optimism, faith and belief in God’s plan
instilled by his mother when he said, “In school I learned
about two basic philosophies: All people are bad until
proven good; all people are good until proven bad. I believe
the latter. I believe in a force of God behind most people.
And so I put my trust in them.”
Undaunted by cynics and critics in Hollywood, the
young actor continued, “In spite of all the suffering we see
around us every day, I think of the poet who wrote: God’s in
His Heaven, All’s right with the world. ……And I feel within
me that this is indeed the truth.”
Believing that America, the message of our Founding
Fathers, and faith in God were inseparable, Ronald Reagan
would weave these elements together in speeches
throughout his life. In May 1952, he delivered a
commencement address at William Woods College, entitled
“America the Beautiful” where these themes met in a very
inspiring moment. “I believe that God in shedding his grace
on this country has always in this divine scheme of things
kept an eye on our land,” he said, “and guided it as a
promised land for these people.”
The Bible was not his only resource for speeches and
ideas. Recently discovered, a personal notebook now on
display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library &
Museum, documents how Ronald Reagan began his
collection of inspiring, compelling and entertaining quotes.
Many were on the subject of religion.
Some of the spiritual thoughts which he meticulously
copied in his own hand are here:
Whittaker Chambers
My eye came to rest on the delicate convolutions of her
ear. Those intricate perfect ears the thought passed
through my mind—no those ears were not (as the comms.
say) created by any chance coming together of atoms in
nature. I didn’t know it at the time but God had laid his
finger on my forehead.
In the above photograph, you can
see the Notes on President Reagan’s
desk in the Oval Office.
Thomas Jefferson
The God who gave us life gave us liberty—can the liberties of
a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that
these liberties are the gift of God?
George Washington
Despair my fellow countrymen of ever teaching citi¬zenship save on the basis of immorality & abandon all
hope of teaching morality on any other foundation than religion for the nation that forgot God has never been
allowed to endure.
Abe Lincoln
I should be the most presumptuous blockhead upon this footstool if I for one day thought that I could
discharge the duties which have come upon me, since I came to this place, without the aid & enlightenment of
one who is stronger & wiser than all others.
Antigone to the Legislature: Sophocles
You who are mortal cannot change the infallible, unwritten laws of heaven. They did not begin today or
yesterday, but they are everlasting & none can tell the hour that saw their birth. I would not from fear of any
human edict, incur the God-inflicted penalty of disobeying divine law.
Numbers 6:24–26
The Lord bless thee & keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee & be gracious unto thee. The Lord
lift up his countenance upon thee & give thee peace.
Commandments
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart & with all thy soul & with all thy mind—this is the 1st & great
commandment. (& the 2nd is like unto it).
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these 2 commandments, hang all the law & the prophets.
Finally, if we take a look at Ronald Reagan’s desk, we find a small treasure. Inside,
he kept a prayer card. We do not know how long he had it or from whom it was
given, but we know he kept it in his desk. Today, the card is carefully protected in
the archives at the Reagan Library.
“I have to realize that whatever I do has meaning only if I ask that it serves
His purpose…. I believe that in my present undertaking, whatever the
outcome, it will be His doing. I will pray for understanding of what it is He
would have me do.”
-Ronald Reagan, 1976
© 2012 The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. All Rights Reserved.