Thomas Jefferson and religion
Encyclopedia
Throughout his life Jefferson
was intensely interested in theology
, biblical study
, and morality
.
As the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence
, he articulated a statement about human rights that most Americans regard as nearly sacred. Together with James Madison
, Jefferson carried on a long and successful campaign against state financial support of churches in Virginia.
The religious views of Thomas Jefferson diverged widely from the orthodox Christianity
of his day. During his 1800 campaign
for the presidency, he had to contend with critics who argued that he was unfit to hold office because he did not have orthodox religious beliefs. It is Jefferson who is credited with propagating the phrase "separation of church and state
". He is most closely connected with the Episcopal Church, Unitarianism
, and the religious philosophy of Deism
.
He cut and pasted pieces of the New Testament together to compose the Jefferson Bible
, which excluded any miracles by Jesus. Though he often expressed his opposition to clergy and to Christian doctrines, Jefferson repeatedly expressed his belief in a deistic god and his admiration for Jesus as a moral teacher
. Opposed to Calvinism
, Trinitarianism and what he identified as Platonic elements in Christianity, in private letters Jefferson refers to himself as "Christian" (1803),
"a sect by myself" (1819),
an "Epicurean
" (1819),
a "Materialist" (1820), and a "Unitarian by myself" (1825). Historian Sydney Ahlstrom associated Jefferson with "rational religion or deism".
at a time when it was the established church
in Virginia and only denomination funded by Virginia tax money. Before the Revolution, parishes were units of local government, and Jefferson served as a vestryman
— a lay administrative position in his local parish.
Office-holding qualifications at all levels—including the House of Burgesses, to which Jefferson was elected in 1769—required affiliation with the current state religion and an undertaking that one would neither express dissent nor do anything that did not conform to church doctrine. Jefferson counted clergy among his friends, and he supported some churches financially. Following the Revolution, the Church of England in America reorganized as the Episcopal Church in America. While president, Jefferson attended weekly nondenominational religious services held in the House of Representatives. He did not attend these when Vice President. He attended these public services because he believed that religion was an important prop for republican government.
In later years, he refused to serve as a godparent for infants being baptised, because he did not believe in the dogma of the Trinity.
There is no evidence that he was ever confirmed or was a communicant.
In 1760, at age 16, Jefferson entered The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg
, and for two years he studied mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy under Professor William Small
, who introduced the enthusiastic Jefferson to the writings of the British Empiricists, including John Locke
, Francis Bacon
, and Isaac Newton
.
Jefferson biographers state he was influenced by deist philosophy
while at William & Mary, particularly by Bolingbroke
.
Terminology Jefferson used in the United States Declaration of Independence
, such as "Nature's God", is typical Deist terminology, but was also often used by non-Deist thinkers like Francis Hutcheson
(Presbyterian) and Cicero
(Roman), both of whom influenced Jefferson's thinking.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Catholic) also used similar terminology when referencing natural law
in his writings as well.
Important tenets of most deists were the denial of the Trinity and of miracles. Though he had a lifelong esteem for Jesus' moral teachings, Jefferson did not believe in miracles, nor in the divinity of Jesus. In a letter to deRieux in 1788, he declined a request to act as a godfather saying he was unable to accept the doctrine of the Trinity "from a very early part of my life".
Jefferson was directly linked to deism in the writings of some of his contemporaries. Patrick Henry's widow wrote in 1799, "I wish the Grate Jefferson & all the Heroes of the Deistical party could have seen my... Husband pay his last debt to nature."
While many biographers, as well as some of his contemporaries, have characterized Jefferson as a Deist, historians and scholars have not found a reference in his surviving writings where Jefferson identifies himself as such. However, he does praise Jesus for what he [Jefferson] considered a form of deism
in an 1803 letter to Priestley,
and again in an 1817 letter to John Adams.
was a necessary reform of the religious "tyranny" whereby a religion received state endorsement, and those not of that religion were denied rights, and even punished.
Following the Revolution, Jefferson played a leading role in the disestablishment of religion in Virginia. Previously the Anglican Church had tax support. As he wrote in his Notes on Virginia, a law was in effect in Virginia that "if a person brought up a Christian denies the being of a God, or the Trinity ...he is punishable on the first offense by incapacity to hold any office ...; on the second by a disability to sue, to take any gift or legacy ..., and by three year' imprisonment." Prospective officer-holders were required to swear that they did not believe in the central Roman Catholic
doctrine of transubstantiation
.
In 1779 he proposed "The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom," which was adopted in 1786. Its goal was complete separation of church and state; it declared the opinions of men to be beyond the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate. He asserted that the mind is not subject to coercion, that civil rights have no dependence on religious opinions, and that the opinions of men are not the concern of civil government. This became one of the American charters of freedom. This elevated declaration of the freedom of the mind was hailed in Europe as "an example of legislative wisdom and liberality never before known."
From 1784 to 1786, Jefferson and James Madison
worked together to oppose Patrick Henry
's attempts to assess general taxes in Virginia to support churches. Instead, in 1786, the Virginia General Assembly
passed Jefferson's Bill for Religious Freedom
, which he had first submitted in 1779. It was one of only three accomplishments he put in his own epitaph. The law read:
In his 1787 Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson stated:
, the New England Palladium wrote, "Should the infidel Jefferson be elected to the Presidency, the seal of death is that moment set on our holy religion, our churches will be prostrated, and some infamous 'prostitute', under the title of goddess of reason, will preside in the sanctuaries now devoted to the worship of the most High."
Federalist
s attacked Jefferson as an infidel
, claiming that Jefferson's intoxication with the religious and political extremism of the French Revolution
disqualified him from public office.
At that time, calling a person an infidel could mean a number of things, including that they did not believe in God. It was an accusation commonly levelled at Deists, though they believe in a deity. It was also aimed at those thought to be harming the Christian faith in which they were raised.
While opposed to the institutions of organized religion, Jefferson consistently expressed his belief in God. For example, he invoked the notion of divine justice in 1782 in his opposition to slavery,
and invoked divine Providence in his second inaugural address.
Jefferson, however, did not shrink from questioning the existence of God. In a 1787 letter to his nephew and ward, Peter Carr, while at school, Jefferson offered the following advice:
Following the 1800 campaign, Jefferson became more reluctant to have his religious opinions discussed in public, and often added requests at the end of letters discussing religion that his correspondents be discreet regarding its contents.
. This phrase has been cited several times by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Establishment Clause
.
In an 1802 letter to the Danbury
Baptist
Association, he wrote:
Regarding the choice of some governments to regulate religion and thought, Jefferson stated:
Deriving from this statement, Jefferson believed that the Government's relationship with the Church should be indifferent, religion being neither persecuted nor given any special status.
Though he did so as Governor of Virginia, during his Presidency Jefferson refused to issue proclamations calling for days of prayer and thanksgiving.
In 1998 James H. Hutson, chief of the Library of Congress’s manuscript division, questioned Jefferson’s meaning, saying it “was never conceived by Jefferson to be a statement of fundamental principles; it was meant to be a political manifesto, nothing more.” Conservative religionists claimed this was proof that Jefferson’s “wall of separation between Church and State” metaphor should never have been interpreted as an overarching principle. Disagreeing, Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, countered that Hutson’s view was “merely one opinion” that most scholars do not hold.
of the Bible
to be false. He described these as "so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture".
He described the "roguery of others of His disciples",
and called them a "band of dupes and impostors" describing Paul as the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus
", and wrote of "palpable interpolations and falsifications". He also described the Book of Revelation
to be "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams".
From his careful study of the Bible, Jefferson concluded that Jesus never claimed to be God.
While living in the White House, Jefferson began to piece together his own condensed version of the Gospel
s, omitting the virgin birth of Jesus, miracles attributed to Jesus, divinity and the resurrection of Jesus
. Thus, primarily leaving only Jesus' moral philosophy, of which he approved. This compilation titled The LIFE AND MORALS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH Extracted Textually from the Gospels Greek, Latin, French, and English was published after his death and became known as the Jefferson Bible
.
In 1803 Jefferson composed a syllabus of the comparative merits of Christianity. He let only a few see it, including Benjamin Rush in 1803 and William Short in 1820. When Rush died in 1813, Jefferson asked the family to return the document to him. In the syllabus, Jefferson outlines what he considers to be some of the advantages of Jesus' teachings. In the 1820 letter to Short, he makes it clear that he disagrees with some of those teachings.
as espoused in Calvinism
. Jefferson was convinced that the message Jesus taught was corrupted by later writers and clerics.
Jefferson's experience in France just before the French Revolution left him deeply suspicious of Catholic priests and bishops as a force for reaction and ignorance. His later private letters indicate he was skeptical of too much interference by Catholic clergy
in matters of civil government. His letters contain the following observations: "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government,"
and, "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot
, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."
"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all), the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."
His experience in America with inter-denominational intolerance served to extend his skepticism to non-Catholic clergy also. In an 1820 letter to William Short
, Jefferson wrote: "the serious enemies are the priests of the different religious sects, to whose spells on the human mind its improvement is ominous."
Upon the disestablishment of religion in Massachusetts, he wrote to John Adams, "I join you, therefore, in sincere congratulations that this den of the priesthood is at length broken up, and that a Protestant Popedom is no longer to disgrace the American history and character." (Works, Vol. iv., p. 301).
To Benjamin Waterhouse in 1811, he referred to the Revelation of St. John as "the ravings of a maniac". In 1817 he wrote to John Adams:
Jefferson's hatred of Calvinism was intense. He never ceased to denounce the "blasphemous absurdity of the five points of Calvin." Three years before his death he writes John Adams:
"His [Calvin's] religion was demonism. If ever man worshiped a false God, he did. The being described in his five points is ... a demon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no God at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin" (Works, Vol. iv., p. 363).
"It is hard to say," observes Bancroft, "which surpassed the other in boiling hatred of Calvinism, Jefferson or John Adams."
To Dr. Cooper, November 2, 1822, Jefferson writes:
"I had no idea, however, that in Pennsylvania, the cradle of toleration and freedom of religion, it [fanaticism] could have arisen to the height you describe. This must be owing to the growth of Presbyterianism. The blasphemy of the five points of Calvin, and the impossibility of defending them, render their advocates impatient of reasoning, irritable, and prone to denunciation" (Works, Vol. iv, p. 358).
Unitarianism
, which, like Deism, rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Jefferson never joined a Unitarian church, but he did attend Unitarian services while in Philadelphia (Joseph Priestley's home town until his 1804 death) and spoke highly of those services. He corresponded on religious matters with numerous Unitarians, among them Jared Sparks (Unitarian minister, historian and president of Harvard), Thomas Cooper, Benjamin Waterhouse and John Adams.
In an 1822 letter to Benjamin Waterhouse
he wrote, "I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its conscience to neither kings or priests, the genuine doctrine of only one God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian."
Jefferson specifically named the teachings of both Joseph Priestley and Conyers Middleton
(English clergyman who questioned miracles and revelation, emphasizing Christianity's role as a mainstay of social order) as the basis for his own faith. In a letter to John Adams
dated August 22, 1813, Jefferson wrote, "You are right in supposing, in one of yours, that I had not read much of Priestley’s Predestination, his no-soul system, or his controversy with Horsley. But I have read his Corruptions of Christianity
, and Early Opinions of Jesus, over and over again; and I rest on them, and on Middleton’s writings, especially his Letters from Rome, and To Waterland, as the basis of my own faith. These writings have never been answered, nor can be answered by quoting historical proofs, as they have done. For these facts, therefore, I cling to their learning, so much superior to my own.
Jefferson continued to express his strong objections to the doctrines of the virgin birth, the divinity of Jesus, and the Trinity. In a letter to Adams (April 11, 1823), Jefferson wrote, “And the day will come, when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as His Father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva, in the brain of Jupiter.” In an 1821 letter he wrote:
To the minister of the First Parish Church (Unitarian) in Portland, Maine, Jefferson once requested the services of a Unitarian minister for himself and for a small group of friends. The reply was that there was no one available to be sent so far away.
In an 1825 letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, Jefferson wrote:
When followers of Richard Price
and Priestley began debating over the existence of free-will and the soul (Priestley had taken the materialist position),
Jefferson expressed reservations that Unitarians too were finding it important to dispute doctrine with one another, and in 1822 held the Quakers up as an example for them to emulate.
In Jefferson's time, Unitarianism was generally considered a branch of Christianity.
Originally it questioned the doctrine of the Trinity and the pre-existence of Christ
. During the period 1800-1850 ,Unitarianism began also to question the existence of miracles, the inspiration of Scripture, and the virgin birth, though not yet the resurrection of Jesus
.
Unitarianism no longer implies belief in a deity; some Unitarians are theists and some are not. Modern Unitarians consider Jefferson both a kindred spirit and an important figure in their history. The Famous UUs website
says:
summarizes Jefferson's theology:
In Peterson's view, Jefferson and Thomas Paine
, the prominent deist, "agreed in the essentials of their theistic faith." Noting that Jefferson never had a deep or moving religious experience, Peterson adds that he "rejected revelation, the divinity of Christ, the miracles, the atonement,
and so on, without which Christianity was nothing in the eyes of believers. He did not even accept Jesus on his own terms, for Jesus was a spiritualist by the grace of God and he a materialist by the grace of science."
Robert S. Alley, professor of humanities emeritus at the University of Richmond holds
that "Any perusal of the Jefferson writings will establish that the Sage of Monticello was a Deist".
Avery Dulles, a leading Catholic
theologian states that while at William and Mary College, "under the influence of several professors, he [Jefferson] converted to the deist philosophy
."
Dulles concludes:
Dulles concurs with historian Stephen Webb, who states that Jefferson's frequent references to "Providence" indicate his Deism, as "most eighteenth-century deists believed in providence."
The historian of religion Sydney E. Ahlstrom
says "One religious movement which enjoyed a season of popularity, and great prestige during the era, in America as in France, was the cult of reason." Ahlstrom calls it "rational religion or deism." Ahlstrom also uses the phrases "reasonable Christianity" and "Christian rationalists," echoing Jefferson's own use of the phrase "rational Christianity." Ahlstrom adds, "Thomas Jefferson was unquestionably the most significant of the American rationalists." He notes that, in content, his theology was similar to that of John Adams
, Joel Barlow
, Elihu Palmer
, and Thomas Paine
, "though Jefferson was more doctrinaire in his materialism."
Historian Gregg L. Frazer argues in his unpublished Ph.D. dissertation that Jefferson's religious views fell between Christianity and Deism. Frazer describes Jefferson as a theistic rationalist
, a term whose first-found usage is in the year 1856.
Frazer cites the following quote from Jefferson's 1785 Notes on the State of Virginia:
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
was intensely interested in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, biblical study
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
, and morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
.
As the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, he articulated a statement about human rights that most Americans regard as nearly sacred. Together with James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, Jefferson carried on a long and successful campaign against state financial support of churches in Virginia.
The religious views of Thomas Jefferson diverged widely from the orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
of his day. During his 1800 campaign
United States presidential election, 1800
In the United States Presidential election of 1800, sometimes referred to as the "Revolution of 1800," Vice-President Thomas Jefferson defeated President John Adams. The election was a realigning election that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican Party rule and the eventual demise of...
for the presidency, he had to contend with critics who argued that he was unfit to hold office because he did not have orthodox religious beliefs. It is Jefferson who is credited with propagating the phrase "separation of church and state
Separation of church and state in the United States
The phrase "separation of church and state" , attributed to Thomas Jefferson and others, and since quoted by the Supreme Court of the United States, expresses an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States...
". He is most closely connected with the Episcopal Church, Unitarianism
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, and the religious philosophy of Deism
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
.
He cut and pasted pieces of the New Testament together to compose the Jefferson Bible
Jefferson Bible
The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by...
, which excluded any miracles by Jesus. Though he often expressed his opposition to clergy and to Christian doctrines, Jefferson repeatedly expressed his belief in a deistic god and his admiration for Jesus as a moral teacher
Christian Deism
Christian Deism, in the philosophy of religion, is a standpoint that branches from Deism. It refers to a deist who believes in the moral teachings — but not divinity — of Jesus...
. Opposed to Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
, Trinitarianism and what he identified as Platonic elements in Christianity, in private letters Jefferson refers to himself as "Christian" (1803),
"a sect by myself" (1819),
an "Epicurean
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus—about whom...
" (1819),
a "Materialist" (1820), and a "Unitarian by myself" (1825). Historian Sydney Ahlstrom associated Jefferson with "rational religion or deism".
Church attendance
Jefferson was raised in the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
at a time when it was the established church
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
in Virginia and only denomination funded by Virginia tax money. Before the Revolution, parishes were units of local government, and Jefferson served as a vestryman
Vestryman
A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body. He is not a member of the clergy.In England especially, but also in other parts of The United Kingdom, Parish Councils have long been a level of local government rather than being solely ecclesiastical in nature...
— a lay administrative position in his local parish.
Office-holding qualifications at all levels—including the House of Burgesses, to which Jefferson was elected in 1769—required affiliation with the current state religion and an undertaking that one would neither express dissent nor do anything that did not conform to church doctrine. Jefferson counted clergy among his friends, and he supported some churches financially. Following the Revolution, the Church of England in America reorganized as the Episcopal Church in America. While president, Jefferson attended weekly nondenominational religious services held in the House of Representatives. He did not attend these when Vice President. He attended these public services because he believed that religion was an important prop for republican government.
In later years, he refused to serve as a godparent for infants being baptised, because he did not believe in the dogma of the Trinity.
There is no evidence that he was ever confirmed or was a communicant.
Jefferson and Deism
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, and for two years he studied mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy under Professor William Small
William Small
William Small was born in Carmyllie, Angus, Scotland, the son of a Presbyterian minister, James Small and his wife Lillias Scott, and younger brother to Dr Robert Small. He attended Dundee Grammar School, and Marischal College, Aberdeen where he received an MA in 1755...
, who introduced the enthusiastic Jefferson to the writings of the British Empiricists, including John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
, and Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
.
Jefferson biographers state he was influenced by deist philosophy
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
while at William & Mary, particularly by Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...
.
Terminology Jefferson used in the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, such as "Nature's God", is typical Deist terminology, but was also often used by non-Deist thinkers like Francis Hutcheson
Francis Hutcheson (philosopher)
Francis Hutcheson was a philosopher born in Ireland to a family of Scottish Presbyterians who became one of the founding fathers of the Scottish Enlightenment....
(Presbyterian) and Cicero
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
(Roman), both of whom influenced Jefferson's thinking.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Catholic) also used similar terminology when referencing natural law
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
in his writings as well.
Important tenets of most deists were the denial of the Trinity and of miracles. Though he had a lifelong esteem for Jesus' moral teachings, Jefferson did not believe in miracles, nor in the divinity of Jesus. In a letter to deRieux in 1788, he declined a request to act as a godfather saying he was unable to accept the doctrine of the Trinity "from a very early part of my life".
Jefferson was directly linked to deism in the writings of some of his contemporaries. Patrick Henry's widow wrote in 1799, "I wish the Grate Jefferson & all the Heroes of the Deistical party could have seen my... Husband pay his last debt to nature."
While many biographers, as well as some of his contemporaries, have characterized Jefferson as a Deist, historians and scholars have not found a reference in his surviving writings where Jefferson identifies himself as such. However, he does praise Jesus for what he [Jefferson] considered a form of deism
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
in an 1803 letter to Priestley,
and again in an 1817 letter to John Adams.
Disestablishment of religion in Virginia
For Jefferson, separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
was a necessary reform of the religious "tyranny" whereby a religion received state endorsement, and those not of that religion were denied rights, and even punished.
Following the Revolution, Jefferson played a leading role in the disestablishment of religion in Virginia. Previously the Anglican Church had tax support. As he wrote in his Notes on Virginia, a law was in effect in Virginia that "if a person brought up a Christian denies the being of a God, or the Trinity ...he is punishable on the first offense by incapacity to hold any office ...; on the second by a disability to sue, to take any gift or legacy ..., and by three year' imprisonment." Prospective officer-holders were required to swear that they did not believe in the central Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
doctrine of transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
.
In 1779 he proposed "The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom," which was adopted in 1786. Its goal was complete separation of church and state; it declared the opinions of men to be beyond the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate. He asserted that the mind is not subject to coercion, that civil rights have no dependence on religious opinions, and that the opinions of men are not the concern of civil government. This became one of the American charters of freedom. This elevated declaration of the freedom of the mind was hailed in Europe as "an example of legislative wisdom and liberality never before known."
From 1784 to 1786, Jefferson and James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
worked together to oppose Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
's attempts to assess general taxes in Virginia to support churches. Instead, in 1786, the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
passed Jefferson's Bill for Religious Freedom
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law...
, which he had first submitted in 1779. It was one of only three accomplishments he put in his own epitaph. The law read:
In his 1787 Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson stated:
Accusations of being an infidel
During the 1800 presidential campaignUnited States presidential election, 1800
In the United States Presidential election of 1800, sometimes referred to as the "Revolution of 1800," Vice-President Thomas Jefferson defeated President John Adams. The election was a realigning election that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican Party rule and the eventual demise of...
, the New England Palladium wrote, "Should the infidel Jefferson be elected to the Presidency, the seal of death is that moment set on our holy religion, our churches will be prostrated, and some infamous 'prostitute', under the title of goddess of reason, will preside in the sanctuaries now devoted to the worship of the most High."
Federalist
Federalist
The term federalist describes several political beliefs around the world. Also, it may refer to the concept of federalism or the type of government called a federation...
s attacked Jefferson as an infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
, claiming that Jefferson's intoxication with the religious and political extremism of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
disqualified him from public office.
At that time, calling a person an infidel could mean a number of things, including that they did not believe in God. It was an accusation commonly levelled at Deists, though they believe in a deity. It was also aimed at those thought to be harming the Christian faith in which they were raised.
While opposed to the institutions of organized religion, Jefferson consistently expressed his belief in God. For example, he invoked the notion of divine justice in 1782 in his opposition to slavery,
and invoked divine Providence in his second inaugural address.
Jefferson, however, did not shrink from questioning the existence of God. In a 1787 letter to his nephew and ward, Peter Carr, while at school, Jefferson offered the following advice:
Following the 1800 campaign, Jefferson became more reluctant to have his religious opinions discussed in public, and often added requests at the end of letters discussing religion that his correspondents be discreet regarding its contents.
Separation of church and state
Jefferson sought what he called a "wall of separation between Church and State," which he believed was a principle expressed by the First AmendmentFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. This phrase has been cited several times by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Establishment Clause
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
The Establishment Clause is the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating, Together with the Free Exercise Clause The Establishment Clause is the first of several pronouncements in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,...
.
In an 1802 letter to the Danbury
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Association, he wrote:
Regarding the choice of some governments to regulate religion and thought, Jefferson stated:
Deriving from this statement, Jefferson believed that the Government's relationship with the Church should be indifferent, religion being neither persecuted nor given any special status.
Though he did so as Governor of Virginia, during his Presidency Jefferson refused to issue proclamations calling for days of prayer and thanksgiving.
In 1998 James H. Hutson, chief of the Library of Congress’s manuscript division, questioned Jefferson’s meaning, saying it “was never conceived by Jefferson to be a statement of fundamental principles; it was meant to be a political manifesto, nothing more.” Conservative religionists claimed this was proof that Jefferson’s “wall of separation between Church and State” metaphor should never have been interpreted as an overarching principle. Disagreeing, Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, countered that Hutson’s view was “merely one opinion” that most scholars do not hold.
Jefferson, Jesus, and the Bible
Jefferson considered much of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
to be false. He described these as "so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture".
He described the "roguery of others of His disciples",
and called them a "band of dupes and impostors" describing Paul as the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
", and wrote of "palpable interpolations and falsifications". He also described the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
to be "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams".
From his careful study of the Bible, Jefferson concluded that Jesus never claimed to be God.
While living in the White House, Jefferson began to piece together his own condensed version of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s, omitting the virgin birth of Jesus, miracles attributed to Jesus, divinity and the resurrection of Jesus
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
. Thus, primarily leaving only Jesus' moral philosophy, of which he approved. This compilation titled The LIFE AND MORALS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH Extracted Textually from the Gospels Greek, Latin, French, and English was published after his death and became known as the Jefferson Bible
Jefferson Bible
The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by...
.
In 1803 Jefferson composed a syllabus of the comparative merits of Christianity. He let only a few see it, including Benjamin Rush in 1803 and William Short in 1820. When Rush died in 1813, Jefferson asked the family to return the document to him. In the syllabus, Jefferson outlines what he considers to be some of the advantages of Jesus' teachings. In the 1820 letter to Short, he makes it clear that he disagrees with some of those teachings.
Anti-clericalism, anti-mysticism, and anti-Calvinism
Jefferson often plainly stated what he did not believe. He rejected the doctrine of an eternal Hell (letter to Van der Kemp, May 1, 1817), and the Doctrine of PredestinationPredestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
as espoused in Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. Jefferson was convinced that the message Jesus taught was corrupted by later writers and clerics.
Jefferson's experience in France just before the French Revolution left him deeply suspicious of Catholic priests and bishops as a force for reaction and ignorance. His later private letters indicate he was skeptical of too much interference by Catholic clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
in matters of civil government. His letters contain the following observations: "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government,"
and, "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."
"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all), the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."
His experience in America with inter-denominational intolerance served to extend his skepticism to non-Catholic clergy also. In an 1820 letter to William Short
William Short (American ambassador)
William Short was Thomas Jefferson's private secretary when he was ambassador in Paris, from 1786 to 1789. Jefferson, later the third President of the United States, referred to Short as his "adoptive son". Short, along with Jefferson, was a co-founder of Phi Beta Kappa at the College of William &...
, Jefferson wrote: "the serious enemies are the priests of the different religious sects, to whose spells on the human mind its improvement is ominous."
Upon the disestablishment of religion in Massachusetts, he wrote to John Adams, "I join you, therefore, in sincere congratulations that this den of the priesthood is at length broken up, and that a Protestant Popedom is no longer to disgrace the American history and character." (Works, Vol. iv., p. 301).
To Benjamin Waterhouse in 1811, he referred to the Revelation of St. John as "the ravings of a maniac". In 1817 he wrote to John Adams:
Jefferson's hatred of Calvinism was intense. He never ceased to denounce the "blasphemous absurdity of the five points of Calvin." Three years before his death he writes John Adams:
"His [Calvin's] religion was demonism. If ever man worshiped a false God, he did. The being described in his five points is ... a demon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no God at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin" (Works, Vol. iv., p. 363).
"It is hard to say," observes Bancroft, "which surpassed the other in boiling hatred of Calvinism, Jefferson or John Adams."
To Dr. Cooper, November 2, 1822, Jefferson writes:
"I had no idea, however, that in Pennsylvania, the cradle of toleration and freedom of religion, it [fanaticism] could have arisen to the height you describe. This must be owing to the growth of Presbyterianism. The blasphemy of the five points of Calvin, and the impossibility of defending them, render their advocates impatient of reasoning, irritable, and prone to denunciation" (Works, Vol. iv, p. 358).
Priestley and Unitarianism
Jefferson expressed general agreement with his friend Joseph Priestley'sJoseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
Unitarianism
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, which, like Deism, rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Jefferson never joined a Unitarian church, but he did attend Unitarian services while in Philadelphia (Joseph Priestley's home town until his 1804 death) and spoke highly of those services. He corresponded on religious matters with numerous Unitarians, among them Jared Sparks (Unitarian minister, historian and president of Harvard), Thomas Cooper, Benjamin Waterhouse and John Adams.
In an 1822 letter to Benjamin Waterhouse
Benjamin Waterhouse
Benjamin Waterhouse was a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School...
he wrote, "I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its conscience to neither kings or priests, the genuine doctrine of only one God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian."
Jefferson specifically named the teachings of both Joseph Priestley and Conyers Middleton
Conyers Middleton
Conyers Middleton was an English clergyman.Middleton was born at Richmond in Yorkshire, and was educated at school in York and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated from the University of Cambridge, took holy orders, and in 1706 obtained a fellowship, which he resigned upon entering into an...
(English clergyman who questioned miracles and revelation, emphasizing Christianity's role as a mainstay of social order) as the basis for his own faith. In a letter to John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
dated August 22, 1813, Jefferson wrote, "You are right in supposing, in one of yours, that I had not read much of Priestley’s Predestination, his no-soul system, or his controversy with Horsley. But I have read his Corruptions of Christianity
An History of the Corruptions of Christianity
An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, published by Joseph Johnson in 1782, was the fourth part of 18th-century Dissenting minister Joseph Priestley's Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion .-Summary:...
, and Early Opinions of Jesus, over and over again; and I rest on them, and on Middleton’s writings, especially his Letters from Rome, and To Waterland, as the basis of my own faith. These writings have never been answered, nor can be answered by quoting historical proofs, as they have done. For these facts, therefore, I cling to their learning, so much superior to my own.
Jefferson continued to express his strong objections to the doctrines of the virgin birth, the divinity of Jesus, and the Trinity. In a letter to Adams (April 11, 1823), Jefferson wrote, “And the day will come, when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as His Father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva, in the brain of Jupiter.” In an 1821 letter he wrote:
To the minister of the First Parish Church (Unitarian) in Portland, Maine, Jefferson once requested the services of a Unitarian minister for himself and for a small group of friends. The reply was that there was no one available to be sent so far away.
In an 1825 letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, Jefferson wrote:
When followers of Richard Price
Richard Price
Richard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
and Priestley began debating over the existence of free-will and the soul (Priestley had taken the materialist position),
Jefferson expressed reservations that Unitarians too were finding it important to dispute doctrine with one another, and in 1822 held the Quakers up as an example for them to emulate.
In Jefferson's time, Unitarianism was generally considered a branch of Christianity.
Originally it questioned the doctrine of the Trinity and the pre-existence of Christ
Pre-existence of Christ
The pre-existence of Christ refers to the doctrine of the ontological or personal existence of Christ before his conception. One of the relevant Bible passages is where, in the Trinitarian view, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis called the Logos or Word...
. During the period 1800-1850 ,Unitarianism began also to question the existence of miracles, the inspiration of Scripture, and the virgin birth, though not yet the resurrection of Jesus
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
.
Unitarianism no longer implies belief in a deity; some Unitarians are theists and some are not. Modern Unitarians consider Jefferson both a kindred spirit and an important figure in their history. The Famous UUs website
says:
General remarks
Biographer Merrill D. PetersonMerrill D. Peterson
Merrill Daniel Peterson was Professor of History at the University of Virginia and the editor of the prestigious Library of America edition of the selected writings of Thomas Jefferson...
summarizes Jefferson's theology:
In Peterson's view, Jefferson and Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, the prominent deist, "agreed in the essentials of their theistic faith." Noting that Jefferson never had a deep or moving religious experience, Peterson adds that he "rejected revelation, the divinity of Christ, the miracles, the atonement,
and so on, without which Christianity was nothing in the eyes of believers. He did not even accept Jesus on his own terms, for Jesus was a spiritualist by the grace of God and he a materialist by the grace of science."
Robert S. Alley, professor of humanities emeritus at the University of Richmond holds
that "Any perusal of the Jefferson writings will establish that the Sage of Monticello was a Deist".
Avery Dulles, a leading Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
theologian states that while at William and Mary College, "under the influence of several professors, he [Jefferson] converted to the deist philosophy
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
."
Dulles concludes:
Dulles concurs with historian Stephen Webb, who states that Jefferson's frequent references to "Providence" indicate his Deism, as "most eighteenth-century deists believed in providence."
The historian of religion Sydney E. Ahlstrom
Sydney E. Ahlstrom
Sydney Eckman Ahlstrom was an American historian. He was a Yale University professor and a specialist in the religious history of the United States....
says "One religious movement which enjoyed a season of popularity, and great prestige during the era, in America as in France, was the cult of reason." Ahlstrom calls it "rational religion or deism." Ahlstrom also uses the phrases "reasonable Christianity" and "Christian rationalists," echoing Jefferson's own use of the phrase "rational Christianity." Ahlstrom adds, "Thomas Jefferson was unquestionably the most significant of the American rationalists." He notes that, in content, his theology was similar to that of John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, Joel Barlow
Joel Barlow
Joel Barlow was an American poet, diplomat and politician. In his own time, Barlow was well-known for the epic Vision of Columbus. Modern readers may be more familiar with "The Hasty Pudding"...
, Elihu Palmer
Elihu Palmer
Elihu Palmer was an author and advocate of Deism in the early days of the United States.-Life:Elihu Palmer was born in Canterbury, Connecticut in 1764. He studied to be a Presbyterian minister at Dartmouth College, whence he graduated in 1787. Soon after his graduation, however, he became a Deist...
, and Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, "though Jefferson was more doctrinaire in his materialism."
Historian Gregg L. Frazer argues in his unpublished Ph.D. dissertation that Jefferson's religious views fell between Christianity and Deism. Frazer describes Jefferson as a theistic rationalist
Theistic rationalism
Theistic rationalism is a hybrid of natural religion, Christianity, and rationalism, in which rationalism is the predominant element.The first-found usage of the term is in the year 1856....
, a term whose first-found usage is in the year 1856.
Frazer cites the following quote from Jefferson's 1785 Notes on the State of Virginia:
- "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever; that considering numbers, nature and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation is among possible events; that it may become probable by supernatural interference! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest."
General Reference Works
- Gaustad, Edwin S. Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson (2001) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN 0-8028-0156-0
- Sanford, Charles B. The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson (1987) University of Virginia Press, ISBN 0-8139-1131-1
- Sheridan, Eugene R. Jefferson and Religion, preface by Martin Marty, (2001) University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 1-882886-08-9
- Edited by Jackson, Henry E., President, College for Social Engineers, Washington, D. C. "The Thomas Jefferson Bible" (1923) Copyright Boni and Liveright, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Arranged by Thomas Jefferson. Translated by R. F. Weymouth. Located in the National Museum, Washington, D. C.