WASHINGTON  What would Mike Huckabee say about George Washington almost being arrested for not attending church on a Sunday shortly after he was elected as the first president? And what would evangelical voters think of Benjamin Franklin taking it upon himself to edit the words of Jesus by rewriting several prayers? Would any of the Founding Fathers be electable today? Those are the types of questions raised in the Rev. Gary Kowalski's new book, Revolutionary Spirits: The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers. In his fifth and most recent book, Kowalski seeks to shatter what he regards as a myth, commonly exhorted by politicians and religious groups. His spiritual portraits of Washington, Franklin, Thomas Paine, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison argue that the founding fathers were neither devout Christians nor secularists. Instead, he depicts them as curious, strong-spirited, scientifically-minded men who were determined to keep religion out of government. "I wanted to set the record straight," said Kowalski, 54, senior minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Burlington, Vt. "I really felt that their legacy had been misappropriated by the religious right." Before he could educate the public, Kowalski had to educate himself. He first became interested in the early Americans' spiritual beliefs as an undergraduate at Harvard. In 2003, Kowalski could no longer tolerate what he saw as an influx of historical inaccuracy, and set about researching the true spiritual nature of the historical icons. Kowalski read several authoritative biographies on each man. When there were questions of accuracy, he would resort to original documents written by Washington, Jefferson, Adams and the others. "Most of the biographies focused on military, government and foreign affairs," Kowalski said, "but they gave a short shrift to their religious lives." What he discovered in his research is in stark contrast to some of today's political leaders. The fathers of American democracy came from different religious backgrounds, but they all had some things in common. They were fascinated by the new scientific discoveries of their day. They were adamant about America being inclusive for all religions, not just Protestantism. And though each may have had a unique brand of spirituality, they were much more circumspect about their beliefs. "I think they would be surprised at how much our political leaders advertise their religious beliefs," Kowalski said, "as well as the preponderance of evangelicalism in the country today." Kowalski's book maintains that the Founding Fathers liked an ample dose of reason mixed in with their Christianity. In an age of witch and heresy trials, they were often wary of the message from the pulpit. Adams distrusted church revival crowds as he did street gangs, claiming both were prone to passions instead of reason. Paine felt that organized religion leads to piousness instead of humility when incorporated with powers of the state. He excoriated it in his writings. In 1731, Franklin took a more humorous approach when he wrote a satirical story, for the Pennsylvania Gazette, about a Puritan-led witch burning — to expose the silliness of believing in witchcraft. And although Washington never chopped down a cherry tree, he was detained by law officers in New England for traveling on the Sabbath. His excuse? He was merely running behind schedule. Though Kowalski says these founding fathers were not avid churchgoers, he is careful to point out that they were not secularists either. His book illustrates their religious beliefs as an amalgam of various religions and the intellectual discoveries of their day. They had their own particular faiths and wanted the same for everyone else. "I think they would be very pleased by the spiritual diversity in our country today," Kowalski said. "With greater diversity, there's less chance for one religion to become too powerful." Enlarge Handout The first U.S. presidents, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams from the book Presidents, A Pictorial Guide to the Presidents Birthplaces, Homes and Burial Sites. A different book paints the Founders as neither evangelicals nor secularists. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.