The Man Himself
LBJ and Religion
A brief history of President Johnson and his family's religious affiliations
LBJ
President Johnson was a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
While attending a summertime revival meeting in 1923 of the Johnson City, Texas First Christian Church, he was baptized at a site on the Pedernales River approximately seven miles downstream from where the LBJ ranch is today. LBJ had been exposed to the preaching and teaching of his mother's Baptist congregation; however, he independently decided that the beliefs of the Disciples were in accord with his own views, and, on that basis, he became, and remained, a member of the Disciples of Christ. He considered the First Christian Church in Johnson City as his "home church." In Washington, D.C., he regarded the National City Christian Church as his "home church," and he frequently worshipped there.
President Johnson also frequently attended services at churches of different denominations. He would accompany Lady Bird Johnson who is Episcopalian, often worshiping at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. He would also attend mass at Catholic churches with his daughter Luci. In Texas, in addition to attending the First Christian Church, his "home church" in Johnson City, he also attended Trinity Lutheran Church and Saint Francis Xavier Church, both in nearby Stonewall, Texas.
Extra tidbit: LBJ frequently quoted the Bible to help illustrate points that he wanted to make. His favorite scripture quotation was from Isaiah 1:18, which begins with: "Come now, and let us reason together."
The Johnson Family
LBJ's mother, Rebekah Baines Johnson, was a Baptist, as were most of her ancestors for several generations. She once expressed the view that she was "grateful for...my Baptist upbringing, sermons, prayer-meeting and Sunday School." Her father, Joseph Wilson Baines, was a leading member of the Baptist Church in Blanco, Texas. She described him as a Baptist "strict in doctrine, broad in charity, large in enterprise," who was frequently heard to say proudly, "I am a Baptist and a Democrat."
LBJ's maternal great-grandfather, George Washington Baines, Sr., was one of the best-known Baptist leaders in the early history of Texas. Reverend Baines accepted a Baptist pastorate in Huntsville, Texas where, incidentally, he was the pastor for Texas hero, General Sam Houston. In 1861, he was chosen to be president of Baylor University, a leading Baptist institution of higher education in Texas and the Southwest, then and now.
LBJ's paternal grandfather, Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., was raised Baptist. In his early manhood, he became a member of the Christian Church. In his later years, he affiliated with the Christadelphians. According to Lady Bird Johnson, LBJ's father, Sam Ealy Johnson, Jr., also joined the Christadelphian Church toward the end of his life.
