Benjamin Franklin responded to his sister Jane Mecom of Boston in a letter in 1743. Jane was apparently concerned about Ben’s slightly unorthodox view and convictions.

Ben carefully explained his beliefs and stated gently: “There are some things in your New England doctrines and worship, which I do not agree with, but I do not therefore condemn them, or desire to shake your belief or practice of them.”

At the age of 37, Ben was a little ahead of his time relating to religious toleration soon to be called Freedom of Religion, because under the U.S. Constitution, First Amendment, we are guaranteed that no Government Religion would be established (Amendment I, December 15, 1791).

Ben, however, did believe in the principle of the Resurrection as is indicated by his own written epitaph: “The body of B. Franklin, printer (Like the cover of an old book, Its contents torn out And stripped of its lettering and gilding), Lies here, food for worms. But the work shall not be lost; For it will (as he believed) appear once more In a new and more elegant edition, Revised and corrected By the Author.” (Capitalization of his own version.)

He once declared: “I think vital religion has always suffered when orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue.” He was so concerned about how people treated one another, he wrote a book about “The Art of Virtue.”