Phil Robertson, patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” family, is a strong believer in faith—and because of that came to admire America’s Founding Fathers.
In an interview with Sean Hannity this week, Robertson said that as he studied U.S. history, he learned about the importance of religion to the country’s founders.
“They were godly men, the vast majority of them,” Robertson said. “I just read about them and I’m thinking, well, I’m no different than they are. They loved God. They carried their Bibles. They follow the lord Jesus. So I’m thinking, I’m like them.”
Robertson’s religious beliefs sparked a controversy in December, prompting A&E to temporarily suspend him from the hit TV show. After widespread backlash, the network reversed the decision. In the Hannity interview, Robertson responded to his critics:
I would never judge or condemn anyone. The Almighty, that’s his job. [I] just give them the good news. Some of them kick and scream about it. We just give it to them.
Robertson, a devout Christian, wasn’t always a man of faith. He has said his previous lifestyle was full of “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.” That changed in his late 20s—and saved his marriage with Kay Robertson.
“I lived with the wicked for 28 years. I’ve been with the godly for 40,” he told Hannity. “Trust me, this last 40—the contrast has been astounding between the two.”
