Early stages in the development of the U.S. government drew on two very basic Christian principles of charity and love, according to a book written by the newest president of Utah Valley University.

As part of the Utah Democracy Project based at UVU, President Matthew S. Holland recently discussed the basis of his book, "Bonds of Affection," which details political greats such as John Winthrop, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln and their individual "religious transformations" that led to what are considered great accomplishments in the development of American society.

The Founding Fathers, Holland said, used the terms often in their political discourses, referring also to scripture in the New Testament and specifically to "Jesus of Nazareth" as "one of the greatest of all the reformers," as stated in Jefferson's Virginia Declaration of Rights. Jefferson also mentioned that it is the "mutual duty of all to practice love and Christian charity," Holland said.

Perhaps the most famous phrase of Jefferson's legacy, found in the Declaration of Independence, "inalienable rights" of man include "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," which Holland says has roots in the political great's personal quest to find a purpose in life. Jefferson continued to use such theology in his first inaugural address, telling colonists that they needed to be "grounded in love, and a religious love at that," which Holland said is one of the greatest metaphors of political thought.

Through all of Americans' political rhetoric, its fledgling government did not endorse a specific faith or religion, Holland said, but drew upon providence many times, especially during Lincoln's leadership. The 16th president revered democratic law as "sacred" and encouraged people to overcome human malice, just as prophets he had read about in the Bible did. In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln rededicated the country to the notion that all men are created equal and that the nation was "under God." He once told a friend that if he could live the principles of the Bible "on a balance of faith," he would die a happy man.

In order to end slavery, Holland said Lincoln persuaded both sides fighting in the Civil War to love each other and love God, also one of Christianity's greatest laws. He tried endlessly to steer America toward civic charity, Holland said. After the assassination and death of Lincoln, Leo Tolstoy made reference to the president as a miniature Christ. And although Holland said to do so would be "intellectually unjustified and spiritually blasphemous," Lincoln had an influence on people of the time.