{"id":29599,"date":"2025-11-12T15:09:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T20:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/?p=29599"},"modified":"2025-11-12T22:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T03:01:00","slug":"the-political-thought-of-charles-hodge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/the-political-thought-of-charles-hodge\/","title":{"rendered":"The Political Thought of Charles Hodge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, most Reformed pastors know Charles Hodge (1797\u20131878) as one of the magisterial theologians of American Presbyterianism. Many of us often turn to his green three-volume\u00a0Systematic Theology<\/a>\u00a0on our shelves (and if you do not, you should). However, far fewer pastors know the significant contributions Hodge made to politics. In my book,\u00a0King of Kings: A Reformed Guide to Christian Government<\/a>, Hodge helped me navigate several thorny questions surrounding church and state. His political writings are, perhaps, more useful today than ever. They present a consistent political theology: the church\u2019s mission is spiritual and distinct, yet the civil magistrate must govern according to God\u2019s moral law. After a sketch of Hodge\u2019s life and context, this essay traces key political-theological arguments he makes, especially regarding Sabbath legislation and public education.<\/p>\n

No Mere Spectator<\/h2>\n

Hodge advocated for a masculine piety in the public square. As he trained pastors, he taught them how to proclaim the law of God with strength and apply it to political issues of the day with incisive prescience. He took bold stands, calling for the state to promote Christianity, pass laws against breaking the Sabbath, and ensure children receive a Christian education in public schools. At the same time, he clearly differentiated between church and state. He prohibited the government from doing the work of the church. To elders alone belong the keys of the kingdom (see Matt. 16:19; 18:18; cf. John 20:23). The civil government ought not to meddle in the government of the church. Nevertheless, Hodge taught that church elders ought to call civil rulers to honor the law of God in their public offices.<\/p>\n

Life, Education, and Intellectual Formation<\/em><\/h3>\n

In 1812, Hodge enrolled in The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) at the age of fourteen. The University had been founded in 1746 by Presbyterians, primarily to train pastors. Its presidents included men like Jonathan Dickinson (the first president), Aaron Burr Sr. (yes, the father of that Aaron Burr), and Jonathan Edwards. In 1768, John Witherspoon became president. Famously, Witherspoon was the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was also a member of the Continental Congress and served as a highly influential Founding Father. John Adams called Witherspoon \u201cas high a Son of Liberty, as any Man in America.\u201d Under Witherspoon, the University began to produce a litany of American Statesmen, including James Madison. Hence, in 1812, the Presbyterians decided to turn Princeton University into an institution designed to train politicians and create a new school, Princeton Seminary, for training pastors. By attending Princeton University, therefore, Hodge received an education fit for an American statesman.<\/p>\n

After graduating from the University, Hodge then enrolled in the Seminary. He quickly distinguished himself as remarkably capable. As soon as he graduated, the Seminary hired him to teach the biblical languages and was made a full professor soon after. Hodge taught at the Seminary for nearly sixty years and even served as the second principal of the Seminary.<\/p>\n

Recently, scholars interested in Hodge\u2019s view of church and state have focused on his writings about the\u00a0spirituality of the church<\/em>.[1]<\/a><\/sup> Hodge did not believe that Christ founded his church as a political organization. The church\u2019s mission is not political, but\u00a0spiritual<\/em>. Its weapons are the ordinary means of grace: the Word, Baptism, Communion, and prayer. Pastors, as officers of the church, ought not speak on issues outside of their realm of jurisdiction and competency. Where the Scriptures speak, the pastor must speak; and where the Scriptures are silent, the pastor must remain silent. However, Hodge believed that the Scriptures address political matters quite substantially. The pastor must proclaim all the teachings of God\u2019s law, and God\u2019s law speaks directly to many political questions. Consequently, pastors ought to engage the political sphere as is fitting to their office and calling. We see this most clearly in Hodge\u2019s writings on the Fourth and Fifth Commandments.<\/p>\n

1. Alan Strange, The Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church in the Ecclesiology of Charles Hodge<\/em> (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2017).<\/h6>\n

Hodge on the Fourth Commandment[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/h2>\n
2. Unless otherwise noted, all references in this section come from Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997): \u00a719.8.<\/h6>\n

The Fourth Commandment requires all men to honor the Sabbath as holy (Exod. 20:8\u201311; Deut. 5:12\u201315). This duty raises the question of Sunday Laws, or Blue Laws as they were sometimes called. If we believe in the separation of church and state, then upon what grounds may the government require businesses to close on Sundays? Hodge begins his answer to this question with several concessions.<\/p>\n

In a free country, every man is equal before the law. No one denomination, form of worship, or principle of church discipline may be established (or officially favored) by the government. No man may be forced to financially support any one church or religious institution. Moreover, every man is at liberty to conduct his life according to his own conscience, provided he does not violate the law. These are important qualifications.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Hodge also affirms the following principles. No nation is a mere collection of individuals. It is an organized body with \u201cits national life, its national organs, national principles of action, national character, and national responsibility.\u201d Moreover, in a free country, the government must be an expression of the national \u201cmind and will of the people.\u201d Therefore, since the people of America are a Protestant people, \u201cthe government must be administered according to the principles of Protestant Christianity.\u201d The government may not ignore the religion of the people any more than they can ignore the facts of human biology. People are biological creatures. Hence, the government must govern them according to the laws of their biology. People are also religious creatures, too. Therefore, the government must govern them according to the laws of religion. It is not merely permissible that the government establish Sabbath laws, according to Hodge. It is an unavoidable necessity baked into the duties of the American government.<\/p>\n

Hodge presses this point even further. It would be great folly for the government to rule its citizens in a way contrary to the laws of their biology. However, violating the laws of religion is far, far worse. \u201cIndeed it would be far safer,\u201d says Hodge, \u201cfor a government to pass an act violating the laws of health, than one violating the religious convictions of its citizens.\u201d Why? Because \u201cthe one would be unwise, the other would be tyrannical.\u201d Hodge drives home his point with force:<\/p>\n

It is vain for the potsherds of the earth to contend with their Maker. They must submit to the laws of their nature not only as sentient, but also as moral and religious beings. And it is time that blatant atheists, whether communists, scientists, or philosophers, should know that they are as much and as justly the objects of pity and contempt, as of indignation to all right-minded men. By right-minded men, is meant men who think, feel, and act according to the laws of their nature. Those laws are ordained, administered, and enforced by God, and there is no escape from their obligation, or from the penalties attached to their violation.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3, 342.<\/h6>\n

There is simply no escaping the laws of religion that God designed into the nature of humanity. But what are these laws of human nature? They are the natural law, summarized and codified for us in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:1\u201317; Deut. 5:6\u201321). These are the moral and religious laws built into the souls of human creatures. They address not only our duties to our fellow man, but also our duties toward God, including our duty to set apart unto God one day in seven. Hence, Hodge concludes:<\/p>\n

If Christianity requires that one day in seven should be a day of rest from all worldly avocations, the government of a Christian people cannot require any class of the community or its own officers to labour on that day, except in cases of necessity or mercy.[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

4. Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3, 343.<\/h6>\n

But if the government did enact such anti-Sabbath laws, what would it mean? According to Hodge, such laws are tantamount to \u201cenacting that no Christian should hold any office under the government, or have any share in making or administering the laws of the country.\u201d Hence, \u201cit would be an act of tyranny, which would justify rebellion.\u201d In Hodges\u2019s eyes, Protestants ought to\u00a0go to war<\/em>\u00a0rather than allow their government to force them to break the Sabbath. And if we did not go to war in this case? Well, then \u201cthe nation would be in complete subjection to a handful of imported atheists and infidels,\u201d which no Christian people ought to idly permit.<\/p>\n

Hodge then addresses the \u201cimported atheists and infidels\u201d more directly. He argues that their demands are \u201cnot only unreasonable\u201d but also \u201cin the highest degree unjust and tyrannical.\u201d Indeed, he calls it positively\u00a0Satanic\u00a0to join in the shout, \u201cCivil government has nothing to do with religion; and religion has nothing to do with civil government.\u201d There is no better way to bring judgment down upon one\u2019s head than to join in this atheistic \u201cfree thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why does Hodge place such weight upon Sabbath laws? Quoting Hengstenberg, Hodge gives us the answer: the Sabbath \u201crests on the unalterable necessities of our nature, inasmuch as men inevitably become godless if the cares and labours of their earthly life be not regularly interrupted.\u201d If we yield the Sabbath to imported atheists and infidels, then we doom our nation to godlessness.<\/p>\n

Hodge on the Fifth Commandment[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/h2>\n
5. Unless otherwise noted, all references in this section come from Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997): \u00a719.9.<\/h6>\n

Hodge deploys a similar line of reasoning in his exposition of the Fifth Commandment to honor our fathers and mothers (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). Along with the rest of the Reformed tradition, Hodge notes how the Fifth Commandment teaches the principle of\u00a0filial piety, that is, the duties between parents and children. Embedded within the command for children to honor their parents lies the duty of parents to care for their children. \u201cAs children are bound to honour and obey their parents,\u201d argues Hodge, \u201cso parents have duties no less important in reference to their children.\u201d Indeed, Hodge goes so far as to say that \u201cparents stand to their dependent children, so to speak, in the place of God.\u201d Hence, children ought to obey while parents ought to love, care, nurture, provide, discipline, and educate their children.<\/p>\n

In his explanation of this commandment, education plays the central role. Hodge takes Ephesians 6:4 as his point of departure: \u201cFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.\u201d Often translated as \u201cnurture and admonition,\u201d the words \u201cdiscipline and instruction\u201d convey the idea well. The parents in general, but especially the father, bear a grave responsibility to discipline and instruct their children in the ways of God. According to Hodge, then, education cannot be reduced to mere intellectual instruction. \u201cMan has a religious as well as an intellectual nature,\u201d he states. Hence, \u201cto neglect the former would be as unreasonable as to neglect the latter and make all education a matter of mere physical training.\u201d In other words, when we instruct a child\u2019s mind without reference to God, we treat the child like a wet computer. We educate them as if they were nothing but little calculators made of meat; beasts that multiply and divide. Put simply, Christian parents must provide their children with a Christian education.<\/p>\n

For Hodge, this assertion was no mere appeal to sentimental religiosity. It was a simple matter of fact. It is worth quoting his argument in full:<\/p>\n

We must act in accordance with facts. It is a fact that men have a moral and religious nature. It is a fact that if their moral and religious feelings are enlightened and properly developed, they become upright, useful, and happy; on the other hand, if these elements of their nature are uncultivated or perverted, they become degraded, miserable, and wicked. It is a fact that this department of our nature as much needs right culture as the intellectual or the physical. It is a fact that this culture can be effected only by the truth instilled into the mind and impressed upon the conscience. It is a fact that this truth, as all Christians believe, is contained in the Holy Scriptures. It is a fact, according to the Scriptures, that the eternal Son of God is the only Saviour of men, and that it is by faith in Him and by obedience to Him, men are delivered from the dominion of sin; and therefore it is a fact that unless children are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they, and the society which they constitute or control, will go to destruction.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6. Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3, 353.<\/h6>\n

In short, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ has spoken. Hence, children must learn his ways. If not, then a generation of men and women will not give him his due. The only alternative is slavery to sin and, eventually, the destruction of society. Make no mistake: Hodge sees non-religious education as an\u00a0existential threat\u00a0<\/em>to America. If children do not learn God\u2019s Word in school, the American experiment will fail. The country will fall into doom and despair.<\/p>\n

During his own day, so-called \u201cthought leaders\u201d advocated for removing religious instruction in public schools. You can imagine Hodge\u2019s reaction. \u201cWhen a state resolves that religious instruction shall be banished from the schools,\u201d he says, \u201cit virtually resolves on self-destruction.\u201d Hence, Hodge\u2019s exposition is theological as much as it is political. He does not stop at merely expositing the Fifth Commandment in a vague, general way. He applies it to the situation of society during his own day and calls for particular political action. Moreover, he does so not only out of a concern for obedience to God\u2019s law but also out of a concern for the health (no, the mere existence!) of American society. Unless rulers governed according to the law of God, the country would be lost. Many, many people would suffer. The blood of the Christian men who built our nation would not fall on fallow ground but on dead, dry dust. The future of America depended upon public Christian education.<\/p>\n

Hodge\u2019s Vision in the Fray<\/em><\/h3>\n

Hodge anticipated the likely objection. It\u2019s an objection many of us have heard. Perhaps it is an objection that some of us may have offered ourselves. \u201cOf course, public schools must not teach\u00a0against<\/em>\u00a0Christianity,\u201d so the argument goes. \u201cNo one should suggest such a thing. However, religious education is best left to the church and the family. It would be better for public schools to allow others to do that work.\u201d In response, Hodge unfolds six arguments. We will not rehearse them all here. Instead, we will focus on his final one.<\/p>\n

In his sixth argument, Hodge notes that \u201cthe banishment of religious influence from our schools is impossible.\u201d In other words, the above objection that we ought to leave Christian education to the church and family is wrong not merely because it is unwise or immoral. It\u2019s wrong because it is simply not an option for any school to be religiously neutral. \u201cIf a man is not religious, he is irreligious; if he is not a believer, he is an unbeliever.\u201d There are no other choices on the table. An education devoid of religious instruction teaches kids atheism. Hodge did not \u201cthird-way\u201d the political question of whether public schools ought to teach kids Christianity. He did not hold back his political capital for a more important issue. He didn\u2019t keep his powder dry for a later date. Instead, he did the exact opposite. He raised the stake of the political question. He pulled back the curtain to show that the issue was far more important than anyone might otherwise think. It was not a trivial debate. No, he put the question in the starkest terms. \u201cThis controversy, therefore, is a controversy between Christianity and infidelity,\u201d said Hodge. It was nothing less than a clash \u201cbetween light and darkness; between Christ and Belial.\u201d Indeed, according to Hodge:<\/p>\n

If you banish Christianity from the schools, you thereby render them infidel. If a child is brought up in ignorance of God, he becomes an atheist. If never taught the moral law, his moral nature is as undeveloped as that of a pagan.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

7. Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3, 356.<\/h6>\n

Will America turn into a nation of infidels, atheists, and pagans? That was the fray into which Hodge flew. However, he recognized the difficulties of how to deal with the vocal minority of people in his day that objected to public Christian education. He offers a few suggestions, but does not teach his rough policy recommendations in order to bind the conscience. His driving concern was to ensure that his seminary students knew to oppose any civil magistrate that would require public schools to banish Christianity, especially when such a banishment went against the will of the people.<\/p>\n

As in our own day, Hodge faced criticism that Christian public schools broke down the so-called separation of church and state. Hodge grants this point. The two institutions are not united in America. Nevertheless, the state must obey the moral law of God as much as the church. God\u2019s law binds all men everywhere and all institutions equally. In his words,<\/p>\n

Men cannot lawfully cheat in banking, nor can they rightfully conduct their business on the Lord\u2019s Day. In like manner if God requires that education should be conducted religiously, the state has no more right to banish religion from its schools, than it has to violate the moral law.[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

8. Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3, 356.<\/h6>\n

No matter your vocation, whether you are a fireman, a banker, a baker, or ruler, you must obey the law of God. And, if you are in charge of educating the American populace, you must ensure the children are raised in the nurture, admonition, discipline, and instruction of the Lord. That\u2019s what the Word of God says.<\/p>\n

Today, we live in a sad day. For decades now, our public schools have banished Christianity. Most, if not all, public schools now not only refrain from teaching Christianity but publicly oppose it at every opportunity. What should Christian parents do? Here is Hodge\u2019s advice:<\/p>\n

The whole thing comes to this: Christians are bound by the express command of God as well as by a regard to the salvation of their children and to the best interests of society, to see to it that their children are brought up \u201cin the nurture and admonition of the Lord;\u201d this they are bound to do; through the state if they can; without it, if they must.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

9. Hodge, Systematic Theology<\/em>, vol. 3, 356.<\/h6>\n

One way or another, parents must ensure their children receive a Christian education. It is, perhaps, the great challenge of our day. How do we ensure we do not lose our children to infidelity, atheism, and paganism? Not everyone can afford a Christian school\u2014though, in my own state of Florida, our governor has provided funds for kids to receive a quality education outside of the public schools. Other states have done the same. But many are not as fortunate. Hodge does not address our particular situation. Undoubtedly, he would be horrified. But I cannot help but offer my own exhortation.<\/p>\n

Concluding Exhortation<\/h2>\n

Fathers, wake up. You have a dragon bent on devouring your children. Gird up your loins. Prepare your mind for action. Sacrifice everything necessary: your time, your treasure, your talents. All of it. Sacrifice it all for your children\u2019s Christian education. Nothing is more important. Raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Everything you love hangs in the balance: the future of your children, your nation, and the glory of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who today argues for a “masculine piety in the public square,” businesses to be closed on the Sabbath, and distinctly Christian instruction in public schools? Charles Hodge, the great systematic theologian of the nineteenth century. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":768,"featured_media":29602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"The Political Thought of Charles Hodge","_seopress_titles_desc":"Who today argues for a \"masculine piety in the public square,\" businesses to be closed on the Sabbath, and distinctly Christian instruction in public schools? Charles Hodge, the great systematic theologian of the nineteenth century.","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[]","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32,12,1977,38],"tags":[398,2436,2434,833,425,1074,82,84,2433,122,2442],"scripture-reference":[],"post_folder":[],"ppma_author":[2445],"class_list":["post-29599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-concise","category-november-2025","category-theme","tag-bible","tag-calvin","tag-christian-tradition","tag-history","tag-john-calvin","tag-kingdom","tag-political-theology","tag-politics","tag-reading","tag-theology","tag-west"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Charles-Hodge-Political-Theology-Baird-scaled-e1762977730333.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-01-13 11:17:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"authors":[{"term_id":2445,"user_id":768,"is_guest":0,"slug":"james-baird","display_name":"James Baird","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/James-Baird.png","url2x":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/James-Baird.png"},"author_category":"1","job_title":"","church_city_state":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","church_site":"","user_url":"","description":"

Reverend James Baird<\/b>\u00a0is Pastor of Christian Education at Covenant Church of Naples (PCA). He is a graduate of Covenant College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Union School of Theology. He previously served at Westminster Theological Seminary and Ligonier Ministries. He and his wife Georgia live in Naples, Florida with their three sons. James is the author of\u00a0King of Kings: A Reformed Guide to Christian Government<\/i>.<\/div>\r\n
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