First Things Book Review Online:

Scroll down to the eighth book review via this link for my review of James H. Hutson's "The Founders on Religion: A Book of Quotations." Not that I really mind that they tweaked a few things. I think, however, that my original wording of the following passage was superior to their change. In First Things, it reads:

Certainly Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin-and very likely Washington and others-possessed unorthodox religious beliefs. This key group comprised the authors of the Declaration, a majority of the board who drafted the Declaration, the first presidents, and the prime architects of the Constitution.

The version that I submitted to them reads:

Certainly Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin -- and very likely Washington, Madison, and a few others too -- possessed unorthodox religious beliefs. This key group comprised the author of the Declaration, a majority of the board who drafted the Declaration, the first four Presidents, and the prime architect of the Constitution.

There is only one "author" of the Declaration and that is Jefferson. The majority of the drafting board of the Declaration included Jefferson, Adams and Franklin. By writing "This key group comprised the authors of the Declaration, a majority of the board who drafted the Declaration" it makes those two phrases seem redundant. Any by "the prime architect of the Constitution," I referred to Madison, whose name they deleted from the Founders who possessed unorthodox religious beliefs. Though, I might add, the evidence that Madison was not an orthodox Christian is even stronger than the evidence for Washington's unorthodoxy. See this past post on the matter.

I don't mind as much that they changed "architect" to "architects" because Franklin and Washington played key roles at the Constitutional Convention (Jefferson and Adams weren't there). And those "others" I had in mind who were not orthodox Christians included Hamilton, Wilson and G. Morris, who, along with Madison did indeed comprise the prime architects of the Constitution.