Abigail Adams was passionate about ideals that some associate more with strong moral character than organized religion, though she also held definitive views on the nature of God.

Born Nov. 11, 1744, she was the daughter of the Rev. William Smith and Elizabeth Quincy. Her father was a liberal Congregationalist who did not preach the doctrines of predestination, original sin or the full divinity of Christ. Instead, he emphasized the importance of reason and morality in religious life — a philosophy that his daughter would adopt.

She was an advocate for the rights of women and the emancipation and education of slaves, enrolling at least one young servant boy in the local school despite the protests of neighbors.

Though she never had any formal schooling she became a prolific writer in regular correspondence with her husband, John Adams, as he was often away from the family farm for long periods of time as a major player in the Continental Congress.

Once, when a battle raged nearby, she wrote to her husband, "The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto his people."

Her beliefs were underscored in her activities and involvement as the nation's first lady during her husband's administration from 1797 to 1801, leading political opponents to refer to her as "Mrs. President."

She and her husband were active members of the First Parish Church in Quincy, Mass., which was Unitarian in doctrine.

In her correspondence she often wrote of her religious faith. In a letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, in 1816, she said, "I acknowledge myself a Unitarian — believing that the Father alone, is the supreme God, and that Jesus Christ derived his being, and all his powers and honors from the Father.

"There is not any reasoning which can convince me, contrary to my senses, that three is one, and one three."

In another letter to her daughter-in-law, Louisa, in 1818, she wondered "when will mankind be convinced that true religion is from the heart, between man and his creator, and not the imposition of man or creeds and tests?"

— Carrie Moore

Dolley Madison

Although little is written about the faith of Dolley Madison, she was widely regarded as a woman of patience, generosity and social grace.

She was born in 1768 and raised as a Quaker. She married at age 21, but three years later, both her husband and one of her two sons died of yellow fever.