By Joe Hursey
This year as the campaign for the next President of the United States progresses, the religious beliefs as well as evangelical support of candidates will at times be made a political issue. Arguments and questions of the sincerity of a candidate’s religious beliefs and church affiliations will come to the forefront. What church do they belong to? If they are Catholic, how much of the Pope’s words and decisions will invade America? Is the candidate truly religious, or just pandering to a Christian base?
Despite what may be heard through today’s media, the United States identifies predominately Christian. Due to the importance of Christian faith to many Americans, the religious faith of a political candidate can impact the results of an election. And this questioning of the validity of a candidate’s faith is not a new inquiry either. Many historians have questioned the faith of leaders such as Abraham Lincoln or William Howard Taft, but none have been questioned as much as the faith and religious beliefs of Thomas Jefferson.
During the 1800 presidential election, Thomas Jefferson’s faith came to the forefront. In the publication, “The Claims of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency, examined at the Bar of Christianity by a Layman”, challenges Thomas Jefferson’s Chirstian beliefs. It argues that Jefferson was not a Christian and his lack of religious faith was a threat to the new nation and democracy. This was not just a few pages, but a 54-page indictment against Jefferson’s religious beliefs and why he should not be elected as president.
During his life, many tried to pin Jefferson down to ascertain his beliefs, but through most his writings on the subject, Jefferson remained elusive. To Benjamin Rush, Jefferson said, “I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished any one to be”. At another time, Jefferson stated to Richard Rush, "... the subject of religion, a subject on which I have ever been most scrupulously reserved. I have considered it as a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, & far less the public, had a right to intermeddle."
Thomas Jefferson’s religious beliefs have been debated throughout and after his death to this day. In an attempt to define his beliefs, in 1820, Jefferson published a book from selected verses from the New Testament, known as “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”. This book is sometimes referred to as the Jefferson Bible. In this publication, he selected the verses containing Jesus’s teachings from Greek, Latin, French and English versions of the New Testament. He cut each verse containing Jesus’s moral teachings from each language and pasted them in order in four columns. On the left page were the Greek and Latin versus, and on the right page were the corresponding French and English verses.
The verses that Thomas Jefferson selected were Gospels that focused on Jesus’s moral teachings, leaving out Jesus’s miracles and work associated with the spiritual side of Jesus. He original copy of this book produced by Jefferson is currently housed in the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian.
While Jefferson’s bible is not an exact proof of what religious beliefs, values or faith he held, his bible does indicate his appreciation for Christian beliefs. Researchers, historians, and many others will continue to search for answers as to what Jefferson really believed and the depth of that faith. This is because of the importance Christianity played in the formation of our nation.
Sources:
Dickins, Asbury and Brown, William, “The claims of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency, examined at the bar of Christianity.” Philadelphia: Columbia House, 1800.
The claims of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency, examined at the bar of Christianity - Document - Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 (gale.com)
“From Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, 21 April 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0178-0001
Jefferson, Thomas, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” (Jefferson Bible), National Museum of American History, Smithsonian. The Book, Page 3 | The Jefferson Bible, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (si.edu)
Jefferson, Thomas, “Thomas Jefferson to Richard Rush, 31 May 1813,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-06-02-0155
Mead, Lucia Ames, “Thomas Jefferson's Religion.” The Journal of Education, Vol. 104, No. 12 (October 4th, 1926), pp. 290-291. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4283298
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