By David G Bonagura, Jr., The Catholic Thing - Our Founding Fathers were keenly aware of this fact. George Washington, in his farewell address, reminded our nascent nation that “[o]f all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. . . . [R]eason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”... The Founders knew that to survive, our republic required virtuous citizens. Ordered liberty was the end; religion was the means.