Thomas Jefferson A Religious Man With A Passion For Religious Freedom

Author(s): Elliot K. Wicks

Source: Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. 36, No. 3 (1967), pp. 271-283
Published by: Historical Society of the Episcopal Church
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Thomas
With

Jefferson
Passion
By

For

Elliot

Religious

Religious
K.

Man
Freedom

Wicks*

As the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and

as a leader in the strugglefor religious libertyin the new nation,
Thomas Jeffersonis widely recognized as a champion of religious
freedom.It is less commonlyknown that religion was an important
personal matter to Jefferson,and in fact, it is often thought he
was not a religious man. Such was definitelynot the case. It is the
purpose of this paper to show that Jeffersondevoted considerable
intellectual energy to the consideration of religion and that he
emerged from this studywith some definiteideas- ideas which were
importantto him personallyand which were influentialin shaping
his attitudes on the importantissue of religious freedom.
Although much has been written about Jefferson'sviews on
religion, the best way to learn what theywere is to read Jefferson's
own words on the subject, for in correspondingwith his friendshe
often discussed his religious beliefs in clear and forcefullanguage.
Thus the approach used in this paper is to quote extensivelyfrom
Jefferson's
writingsin order to presentthe flavoras well as the meaning of his statements.
I. Jefferson's Personal Religion
In his approach to religion,as in his approach to all important
matters, Thomas Jeffersonwas a product of his age- the Age of
Reason. For him, the ultimate test of the truth of any religious
principle was simple: Does it correspondwith what our minds say is
reasonable and rational? If the answer is Yes, one can accept the
idea or principle as valid; but if the idea seems inconsistentwith
what reason and experience tell us, then one must reject it as false.
In a letter to his nephew Peter Carr, Jeffersongave a
description
of what had probably been his own approach to the
study of
religion:
Your reason is now mature enough to examine this
object. In
*Mr.Wicksis a graduate
student
at theMaxwellGraduateSchoolof Citizenof Syracuse(N. Y.) University.
shipand PublicAffairs
Editor'sNote.

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the firstplace divestyourselfof all bias in favourof noveltyand

singularityof opinion. . . . On the other hand shake offall the
fear and servileprejudices under which weak minds are servilely
crouched. Fix reason firmlyin her seat, and call to her tribunal
every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the
existence of a god; because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason,than that of blindfoldedfear. . . .
The facts [in the Bible] which are within the ordinarycourse
of nature you will believe on the authorityof the writer.. . . The
testimonyof the writerweighs in their favor in one scale, and
theirnot being against the laws of nature does not weigh against
them. But those factsin the bible which contradictthe laws of
nature, must be examined with more care, and under a variety
of faces. Here you must recur to the pretensionsof the writerto
inspiration from god. Examine upon what evidence his pretensions are founded, and whether that evidence is so strong
as that its falsehood would be more improbable than
a change in the laws of nature in the case he relates
You will next read the new testament. It is the history
of a personage called Jesus. Keep in your eye the opposite
pretensions 1. of those who say he was begotten by god,
born of a virgin,suspended and reversedthe laws of nature at
will, and ascended bodily into heaven: and 2. of those who say
he was a man of illegitimatebirth,of a benevolent heart, enthusiastic mind, who set out without pretensions to divinity,
ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition. ... Do not be frightenedfromthis inquiry by any fear of
it's consequences. ... In fine,I repeat that you must lay aside
all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject anything because any other persons,or descriptionof persons have
rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given
you by heaven, and you are answerablenot for the rightnessbut
uprightnessof the decision.1
A Criticof Orthodox Theology
In applying the testof reason himself,Jefferson
rejectedmuch of
what was orthodoxin Christianityof the day. His beginning
proposition that reason must be the sole authorityforreligiousbelief meant
that he could accept neither the principle of revelation nor the
saw it, the Bible,
Scripturesas a divine source of truth.2As Jefferson
like most historical records,was full of inaccuracies and untruths.
Even the New Testament Gospels, upon which much of orthodox
teachingwas based, must be read with a criticalmind, for theywere
to PeterCarr,Aug.10,1787in Paul L. Ford (ed.), The Writings
Jefferson
of
ThomasJefferson
(NewYork:G. P. Putnam's
Sons,1894),IV, 429-432.
2GeorgeH. Knoles,"The
Ideasof ThomasJefferson,"
The Mississippi
Religious
Historical
Review
, XXX (June1943to March1944), pp. 188-89.
Valley

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THOMAS JEFFERSON - A RELIGIOUS

MAN

273

composed by "the most unletteredand ignorantmen; who wrote,too,

frommemory,and not till long afterthe transactionshad passed/'8
Because it appeared to contradictreason,Jefferson
rejected most
of the dogma of orthodox Christianity.The account of the virgin
birth of Jesus he likened to "the fable of the generationof Minerva
in the brain of Jupiter/'4He had similar scorn for the principle of
the Trinity,findingit impossible to "perceive the Geometricallogic
of Euclid in the demonstrationsof St. Athanasius,that threeare one,
and one is three; and yet that the one is not three nor the three
one."5 Jeffersoncould attach little more credibilityto the physical
ascension of Christor to His performanceof miracles.In fact,Jefferson evidentlybelieved that all accounts of Jesus' divinityor supernatural powers were fabricationsor misrepresentations.
The proof of
this is found in The Life and Teachings of Jesusof Nazareth,a little
book which Jefferson
formedby extractingfromthe Gospels what he
believed was valid and essential in the biblical account of Jesus'
life. Composed for his own use, this volume deletes all referencesto
the supernaturalor divine aspects of Jesus' life- clear evidence that
Jeffersonviewed them as either unimportantto understandingthe
religion of Jesus or, what is more likely,simplynot true.
A Deist in Theology
This evidence showing Jefferson'snegative attitude toward
orthodox religious beliefsmight temptone to conclude- as many of
his political enemies did- that he was an atheist. Such was
plainly
not the case. Jefferson
had a profound faith in God, although his
conception of the nature of God was undoubtedly much different
fromthat of most Christiansof his day. His frequentreferencesto the
Deity in public and privatedocumentsare evidence of his belief,but
the depth of his convictionis shown clearly in a letterhe wrote to
his frendJohn Adams:
I hold, (withoutappeal to revelation)that when we take a view
of the universe,in its parts,general or particular,it is
impossible
for^the human mind not to perceive and feel a conviction
of
design, consummateskill, and indefinitepower in everyatom of
its composition.... it is impossible,I say, for the human mind
not to believe, that there is in all this [order of the
universe],
in Ford,VIII. 227.
8Syllabus
toJohnAdams,
^Jefferson
April11,1823in H. A. Washington
(ed.), The Writings
of ThomasJefferson
(NewYork:Riker,Thorneand Co.. 18541
. VIT 984
to WilliamCanby,Sept.18, 1813in S. E. Forman,The Life and
^Jefferson
ofThomasJefferson
The Bobbs-Merril
Writings
(Indianapolis:
Co.,1900), pp.361-2.

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design,cause and effect,up to an ultimate cause, a fabricatorof

all thingsfrommatterand motion,theirpreserverand regulator
while permittedto exist in their present forms,and their reinto new and other forms.We see, evidentproofs
generatiou
of the necessityof a superintendingpower, to maintain the
universe in its course and order. ...
So irresistibleare these
evidences of an intelligentand powerfulagent, that, of the infinitenumbers of men who have existed throughall time, they
have believed, in the proportion of a million at least to unit,
in the hypothesisof an eternal pre-existenceof a creator,rather
universe. Surely this unanimous
than in that of a self-existent
sentimentrendersthis more probable, than that of the fewin the
other hypothesis.6
Except that he believed that God was the creatorand the source
of order in the universe,an idea common to those who were known
as Deists, little else is known of Jefferson's
theologysimply because
he said nothing furtheron the matter.His reluctance to reveal his
views of God was based partlyon political practicalityand partlyon
personal conviction.Experience had taughthim that his unorthodox
religiousviews in the hands of his political enemies could be used to
his disadvantage. Frequentlyin his correspondencewith friendson
religious matters,he cautioned them not to make public his statements for this reason. In one such letter, for example, he warns,
"Everyword which goes fromme, whetherverballyor in writing,becomes the subject of so much malignant distortion,and perverted
construction,that I am obliged to caution my friends against admittingthe possibilityof my lettersgettinginto the public papers,
or a copy of them to be taken under any degree of confidence.. . ."7
In an age when religious unorthodoxywas even less tolerated in
public figuresthan it is now, it is perhaps not surprisingthat Jefferson's religiousbeliefsbecame an issue in the Presidentialcampaign of
1800.8
Perhaps an even more importantreason for Jefferson's
reticence
was his conviction that a person's ideas about God were a
highly
personal matter,not one to be discussed with others and certainly
not appropriate for public considerationand dissection. "Our
particular principles of religion are a subject of
accountabilityto one
God alone. I inquire after no man's, and trouble none with mine;
to JohnAdams,April11,1823in Washington,
Jefferson
VII, 281-82
toEdwardDowse,April19,1803in SaulK. Padover(ed.), The World
Jefferson
Fathers(NewYork:ThomasYoseloff,
of theFounding
I960) p. 292
8Herbert
M. Morals,
DeisminEighteenth
America(NewYorkColumbia
Century
Press,1934), p. 138.
University

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THOMAS JEFFERSON - A RELIGIOUS

MAN

275

nor is it given to us in this life to know whetheryoursor mine, our

friends or our foes, are exactly the right."9The last part of this
statementhints at another explanation for Jefferson's
unwillingness
to discuss theology:it appears that he felt such discussionwas futile
because the nature of God was beyond man's comprehensionand
unwise because it too oftenled to senselessfactionand even violence.
"On the dogmas of religion as distinguishedfrommoral principles,
all mankind,fromthe beginningof the world to this day, have been
quarreling, fighting,burning and torturingone another, for abstractions unintelligible to themselvesand to all others, and absolutelybeyond the comprehensionof the human mind."10Moreover,
Jefferson
pointed out, even Jesus "has told us only that God is good
and perfect,but has not definedhim. I am, therefore,
of his theology,
that
we
have
neither
words nor ideas adequate to that
believing
definition.And if we could all, afterthis example, leave the subject
as undefinable,we should all be of one sect, doers of good, and
eschewersof evil. No doctrinesof his lead to schism."11
Jefferson'stheological views can be summarizedsimply: He rejected the revelation of the Scriptures,the concept of the Trinity,
and the account of the supernaturalpowers of Jesus. He believed
in immortalityand in God as the creator and ruling force in the
universe but refused to speculate furtherabout the nature of the
Creator.
A Follower of theMoral PhilosophyofJesus
Thus it appears that Jefferson's
ideas about theologywere largely
the relationshipof man to God
negative or agnostic.But to Jefferson
and the nature of God were not the most significantaspects of
religion.Two otherconsiderationswere of greatimportance:the duty
of man to his fellow men and the duty of man to himself.12
If Jefferson'sviews on theology and the spiritual aspect of religion are
obscure, his position on that aspect of religion which is concerned
with moral principles is clear and unequivocal. He was an enthusiasticproponent of the systemof moral philosophy taught and
lived by Jesus of Nazareth,which he characterizedas "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offeredto
to MilesKing,1814in Forman,
Jefferson
p. 363.
to MathewCarey,Nov.11,1816in Ford,X, 67-8.
10Jefferson
11
to EzraStyles,
Jefferson
June25, 1819in Washington,
VII, 127-8.
12KarlLehmann,
ThomasJefferson:
American
Humanist(NewYork:The MacmillanCo.,1947), pp. 137-38.

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man."18But this is not to say that he accepted all of the New Testament account of Jesus'life and teachingas a guide to moral behavior,
for much of what was writtenhe regardedas being not the words of
Jesus but those of his biographers.Recognizingwhat was the actual
because what was trulyhis creation
teachingof Jesuswas not difficult,
is found in "passages of fine imaginations,correctmorality,and of
the most lovely benevolence"easily separated fromotherpassages "of
so much ignorance,or so much absurdity,so much untruth,charlatanism and imposture,as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictionsshould have proceeded fromthe same being."14In order
to separate "the gold fromthe dross,"a task which Jefferson
actually
undertookin compiling the Jefferson
Bible previouslyreferredto, it
was necessaryto reduce the New Testament"volume to the simple
evangelists,select, even from the very words only of Jesus, paring
offthe amphibologisminto which theyhave been led, by forgetting
often,or not understanding,what had fallenfromhim,by givingtheir
own misconceptionsas his dicta, and expressingunintelligiblyforothers what they had not understood themselves."16
Admittedly,what
was left were only "fragments"of what Jesus taught,but even these
showed that he was "a master workman, and that his systemof
moralitywas the most benevolent and sublime probably that have
been ever taught,and consequentlymore perfectthan those of any
of the ancient philosophers."10
believed that the religion taughtby Jesus was a simple
Jefferson
one that had as its goal the happiness of man. The key doctrines
were: "1. That there is only one God, and he all perfect.2. That
there is a futurestate or rewardsand punishments.3. That to love
God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself,is the sum of
religion. These are the great points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews."17What was really original and of
fundamentalimportancein the teachingsof Jesus, as Jeffersonsaw
- love forour fellowmen. Only if men
it, was the principleof charity
recognized and accepted this principle could there be progress in
human relations,and if theydid, the result would be personal freedom and happiness.18
to JohnAdams,Oct.13,1813in Padover,
p. 295.
"Jefferson
to WilliamShort,1820in Forman,
p. 364.
"Jefferson
to JohnAdams,Oct.13,1813in Padover,
p. 295.
"Jefferson
to Joseph
Priestley,
April9, 1803in Ford,VIII, 225.
"Jefferson
to Benjamin
Waterhouse,
June26, 1822in Padover,
"Jefferson
p. 317.
"Lehmann,
pp. 136-37.

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THOMAS JEFFERSON - A RELIGIOUS

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277

Most concerned with the moral aspects of religion himself,Jeffersonbelieved that acceptanceof the moral philosophyof Jesuswas
what was essential to Christianityand the only thing that it was important that Christiansagree on. "If all Christiansectswould rally to
the Sermon on the mount, make that the centralpoint of Union in
religion,and the stamp of genuine Christianity,(since it gives us all
the precepts of our duties to one another) why should we further
ask . . . 'What thinkye of Christ?'"19Argumentsabout the divinity
or the nature of the divinityof Jesus are futileand unnecessary,for
what is importantabout religion is how it affectsone's life. "I must
ever believe that religionsubstantiallygood which producesan honest
life."20"He who steadilyobservesthose moral preceptsin which all
religions concur,will never be questioned at the gates of heaven, as
to the dogmasin whichtheyall differ."21
Though he consideredJesus a profoundmoral teacher,Jefferson
could not accept all of what he preached. "I am a Materialist; he
takes the side of Spiritualism;he preaches the efficacy
of repentance
towardsforgivenessof sin; I require a counterpoiseof good worksto
redeem it, etc., etc. It is the innocenceof his character,the purityand
sublimityof his moral precepts,the eloquence of his inculcations,
the beauty of his apalogues in which he conveysthem,that I do so
much admire.. . ,"22
An Admirerof theAncientPhilosophers
At the heart of Jefferson's
personal moral philosophy,then,were
the teachingsof Jesus concerningone's duty to his fellow men. But
was not satisfiedto stop there,for there is a third branch
Jefferson
of moral philosophy,the duty one has to himself,and about this
Jesus had little to say. But it was one of the prime concernsof the
ancient philosophers,who taughthow one could attain
self-discipline,
and make reason rather than passion the ruler of one's
self-control,
conduct. As Jefferson
put it, the preceptsof the ancient philosophers
"relate chieflyto ourselves,and the governmentof those
passions
which, unrestrained,would disturb our tranquilityof mind. In this
branch of philosophy they were really great."28But
Jeffersonwas
no more willing to accept everythingthe ancient
philosopherstaught
to GeorgeThacker,
Tan.26, 1824in Ford.X. 288-Q
"Jefferson
to Mrs.Harrison
1816in Forman,
20Jefferson
Smith,
p. 363.
to WilliamCanbv,Sept.18. 1813in Formanr> Sfii
^Jefferson
to WilliamShort,
"Jefferson
April13,1820in Forman,
n 3fi4
Ford,VIII, 225-26.
23Syllabus,

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than he was to accept all that Jesuspreached. He rejected the notion

of some of the ancientsthat the good life was in the realm of abstract
ideas and largelyseparate fromemotion,passion, and the senses.Believing that man is a sensual being, Jeffersonconsidered human
passion, emotion,and sentimentto be an inherentand vital part of
the nature of man and thereforegood so long as controlled.Jefferson's philosophy was somethingof a combination of that of Jesus
and Epicurus. Enjoyment of the material aspects of life was good
to the extent that it contributedto happiness, but combined with it
must be the fulfillmentof one's social obligations, which are best
expressedin the principleof Christianlove and charity.24
Even though Jeffersonhad great admiration for the ancient
philosophers,it is clear that he thought "the moralityof Jesus as
undertooka comparitaughtby himself... far superior."25
Jefferson
son of the teachings of Jesus and others in the realm of moral
philosophy,and the result,"Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of
the Doctrines of Jesus,Compared with Those of Others," is perhaps
the best summary of Jefferson'sview: He lauds the ancients for
their teachings concerningself-government
and control of passions,
but he findsthat "in developing our duties to otherstheywere short
and defective."They taughtpartiotismand justice towardsneighbors
and countrymen,but they have not "inculcated peace, charityand
love to our follow men, or embraced with benevolence the whole
familyof mankind." Jesusfilledthis gap. "His moral doctrines,relating to kindredand friends,were more pure and perfectthan those of
the most correctof the philosophers,and greatlymore so than those
of the Jews; and theywent far beyond both in inculcatinguniversal
philanthropy,not only to kindred and friends,to neighbors and
countrymen,but to all mankind,gatheringall into one family,under
the bonds of love, charity,peace, common wants and common aids."
This emphasis on all-embracinglove for one's fellow man is "the
peculiar superiorityof the systemof Jesus over all others."20
Position in theReligious Spectrum
Jefferson's
To know where to place Jefferson
in the spectrumof religious
Was
he
a
is
not
Christian?
easy.
thought
Accordingto the standards
of his day, the answer is clearly No. He could not have accepted
much of the Nicene Creed, the basis for the dogma of most
24Lehmann,
pp. 139-42.
to EdwardDowse,April19,1803in Padover,
25Jefferson
p. 291.
in Ford,VIII, 223-28.
26Syllabus

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THOMAS JEFFERSON - A RELIGIOUS

MAN

279

churches,and he rejected the notion that the Scriptureswere the

revelationof God. He had no use whatsoeverforCalvinism and often
attacked it with stronglanguage. "He [Calvin] was indeed an atheist, which I can never be; or ratherhis religion was daemonism.If
ever man worshippeda false God, he did. The being describedin his
fivepoints, is not the God whom ... I acknowledgeand adore, the
creator and benevolent governor of the world; but a daemon 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."27
If Jefferson
can be identifiedwith any organized religiousgroup
of his day it would be the ultra-liberalsin the Congregationalist
churcheswho eventuallyformedthe Unitarian Church. His insistence
on reason as the test of religious truth,his rejection of the Trinity,
and his view of the Bible as a historicalrecord subject to all the inaccuracies, inconsistencies,and prejudices of its human composers
were all similar to the position of the most liberal Unitarians, of
which William Ellery Channing was the best known representative.
But even the Unitarianism of Channing was too conservativefor
for Channing accepted the Bible as a revelation of God
Jefferson,
to mankind, the physical resurrectionof Christ,and the validity of
miracles.28Even though Jeffersondescribed himself as a Unitarian
and saw it as the dominant religion of the future,20
it is probably a
mistake to try to identifyhim with any organized religious group.
He said of himself,"I am in a sect by myself,as faras I know."30
Regardless of what his contemporariesmay have thoughtof him
or how we classifyhim today,Jefferson
consideredhimselfa Christian.
In a letterto Benjamin Rush he wrotethathis viewson the Christian
religion "are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection,and very
differentfrom that anti-Christiansystemimputed to me by those
who know nothingof my opinions. To the corruptionsof Christianity
I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus
himself.I am a Christianin the only sense he wished any one to be;
sincerelyattachedto his doctrine,in preferenceto all others;ascribing
to himselfevery human excellence; and believing he never claimed
was a followerof the moral preceptsof
any other."31That Jefferson
to JohnAdams,
27Jefferson
April11,1823in Washington,
VII, 281.
28Nelson
Manfred
Blake,A History
ofAmerican
Lifeand Thought(NewYork:
McGraw-Hill
BookCo.,Inc.,1963),pp. 200-01.
29
to JamesSmith,1822in Forman,
Jefferson
p. 417.
30
to EzraStyles,
Jefferson
VII, 127.
June25,1819in Washington,
to BenjaminRush,April21, 1803in Ford,VIII, 223.
31Jefferson

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Jesus is evident. But any attemptto go beyond this and to classify

him as a Christianor a non-Christianis futile,for even today there
is no agreementas to what one must believe to be a Christian.
has oftenbeen allied with the AmericanDeists, most of
Jefferson
like
whom, were,
Jefferson,
upper-classliberals and intellectualswho
had accepted rationalismas the basis for all intellectual endeavors.
Applying the test of reason to religion,theyconcluded that much of
orthodox religion was little more than superstition.In general they
emphasized threereligious principles: (1) belief in a Creator or First
Cause; (2) the importanceof leading a virtuouslife; and (3) belief in
the continuanceof life afterdeath.32The early American deists,who
included many of the most prominent leaders such as Franklin,
Edmund Randolph, Ethan Allen, and Thomas Paine, were generally
cautious and hesitant to attack organized Christianityopenly. But a
few of them,notably Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine, were militant
in their assaults against Christianity.Jefferson
was not among these,
for he favored not the destructionof Christianitybut its reform,
which could be accomplished only by purging it of the additions
- the writersof the
made by Jesus'interpreters
Gospels themselvesbut
especiallythe priestswho came after.
In this one respect,then, Jefferson
was allied with the militant
Deists: he had little use for what he loosely referredto as the priest
class, for he held them responsiblefor the perversionsof true Christianityand forthe manyatrocitiescommittedin the name oreligion.
On mattersof religion,he reservedhis harshestwords for the priests:
"My opinion is that therewould never have been an infidel,if there
never had been a priest.The artificialstructurestheyhave built on
the purest of all moral systems,for the purpose of derivingfromit
pence and power, revolts those who think for themselvesand who
read in that systemonly what is really there."33The doctrines of
Jesushave receivedthe greatestinjury"fromthosewho pretendto be
his special disciples, and who have disfiguredand sophisticatedhis
actions and precepts,fromviews of personal interest,so as to induce
the unthinkingpart of mankind to throwoffthe whole systemin disgust, and to pass sentenceas an impostoron the most innocent,the
most benevolent,the most eloquent and sublime characterthat ever
has been exhibitedto man."34"In everycountryand in everyage, the
priesthas been hostile to liberty.. . . They have pervertedthe purest
32Morais,
pp. 13-15.
83Jefferson
to Mrs.Harrison
1816in Forman,
Smith,
p. 363.
34
to Joseph
Jefferson
Priestley,
April9, 1803in Ford,VIII, 225.

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THOMAS JEFFERSON - A RELIGIOUS

MAN

281

and jargon, unintelligible

religion ever preached to man into mystery
to all mankind."85
II. Jefferson And Religious Liberty
views on religionare of interestin themselves,but it is
Jefferson's
worth consideringwhetheror not his religious convictionshad any
important influenceon his political ideas. The answer seems to be
that one of Jefferson's
importantcontributionsto American political
philosophy- the formulationof the principle of separationof church
and state- was at least partlya resultof his ideas about religion.This
is not meant to imply thatJefferson
would not have been a supporter
of religious freedomhad he held more conventionalreligious views,
but it is hard to imagine that his untiring support for religious
liberty and separation of the powers of church and state were not
in part a consequence of his religious convictions.He knew from
personal experience what it was to be criticizedand maligned for
unorthodox religious views, and certainlythis experience could only
have made him more sympatheticto those who were persecutedfor
their unconventionalbeliefsor who were forcedto support a church
whose dogma theycould not accept.
view on religious freedomand
The contrastbetween Jefferson's
that of some of the other early American leaders whose religious
beliefs were more orthodox helps to support this position. Patrick
Henry, orthodox in religion and a militant opponent of freethinking, advocated state support for religion. And Richard Henry Lee,
also a religious conservative,joined with Henry and other conservaBill for EstablishingReligious Freedom
tives in opposing Jefferson's
in Virginia.1This is not to say that only the religiousradicals favored
complete freedom of religion, for that was not the case, but it is
reasonable to assume that people whose religiousviews were extreme
were much
according to the standardsof the day, as were Jefferson's,
more likely to be personally affectedby and thereforeopposed to
social and legal restraintson religiousliberty.
The argumentsthat Jefferson
gave to support the principle of
religious freedomreflecthis own approach to religion (although they
are none the less convincingbecause of this). To Jefferson,
religion
was a private affair,a matterof personal experience,and no person
to HoratioSpafford
in Francis
C. Rosenberger
Reader
85Jefferson
(ed.), Jefferson
(NewYork:E. P. DuttonandCio.,Inc.,1953), p. 165.
ThomasJefferson:
A Biography
1Blake,p. 190;NathanSchachner,
(NewYork:
ThomasYoseloff,
1957), p. 161.

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282

HISTORICAL

MAGAZINE

and certainlyno state had the right to interferewith the dictates of

an individual's conscience."The care of everyman's soul belongs to
himself."2"No man has power to let anotherprescribehis faith.Faith
is not faithwith[ou]tbelieving.No man can conformhis faithto the
dictates of another. The life and essence of religion consistsin the
internalpersuasionor beliefof the mind."3
It was particularlyinappropriatefor the state to tryto influence
a person'sreligion,forsuch action is a violation of natural rightsand
at the same time certain to be ineffective.
"Our rulers can have auover
such
natural
as
we
have submittedto them.
thority
rights,only
The rightsof consciencewe never submitted,we could not submit.
We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimatepowers of
governmentextend to such acts only as are injurious to others. . . .
Constraintmay make ... [a man] worseby makinghim a hyprocrite,
but it will nevermake him a truerman. It may fixhim obstinatelyin
his errors,but will not cure him."4And, Jefferson
pointed out, a man
cannotbe saved by a religionhe disbelievesand abhors.5
Furthermore,any attemptof the state to enforcereligiousdogma
is likely to introduce and then perpetuateerror. "If magistracyhad
vouchsafedto interposethus in other sciences [as it has in mattersof
religion],we should have as bad logic, mathematicsand philosophy
as we have divinityin countrieswhere the law settles orthodoxy."8
But the argumentwhich perhaps most closely reflectsJefferson's
own attitude toward religion is the one which maintains that only
throughthe free exerciseof reason can truthbe discovered."Reason
and freeinquiryare the only effectualagentsagainst error.Give loose
to them, theywill support the true religion by bringingevery false
one to their tribunal,to the testof theirinvestigation.'"7
"Truth will
do well enough if left to shiftfor herself.She seldom has received
much aid fromthe power of great men to whom she is rarelyknown
and seldom welcome. She has no need for forceto procure entrance
into the minds of men. Error indeed has often prevailed by the assistanceof poweror force."8
2Notes
on Religion,
Ford,II, 99.
Hbid p. 101.
4Notes
on Virginia
in Saul K. Padover,
ThomasJefferson
and theFoundations
of
American
Freedom(Princeton,
NewJersey:
D. VanNostrand
Co.,Inc.,1965}
' , pp.
177-78.
5Notes
on Religion
in Ford,II, 102.
eIbid.,p. 95.
7Notes
onVirginia
in Padover,
Thomas
andtheFoundations
Jefferson
.... p. 178.
8Notes
on Religion
in Ford,II, 102.

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THOMAS JEFFERSON - A RELIGIOUS

MAN

283

Though Jefferson's
personal ideas on religion did not gain widehis
spread acceptance,
position on religiouslibertydid. Men of more
orthodox persuasion than he eventually saw the logic and wisdom
in his stand. The struggleto dissentanglethe powers of church and
state was not easily or quickly won, but finallywith the passage of
the Statute for Religious Freedom in Virginia,Jefferson's
position,so
powerfullystated in his preamble to that bill, became embodied in
the law of Virginia and stood as the most eloquent statementof the
principlesof religiousfreedom:
AlmightyGod hath created the mind free, and manifestedhis
supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether
all attemptsto influenceit by
insusceptible of restraint;...
temporal punishments,or burthens,or by civil incapacitations,
tend only to beget habits of hypocrisyand meanness,and are
a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion,
who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to
propagate it by coercionson either,as was his almightypower to
do, but to exalt it by its influenceon reason alone; . . . our
civil rightshave no dependence on our religious opinions, any
more than our opinions in physicsor geometry;. . . the opinions
of men are not the object of civil government,nor under its
jurisdiction; . . . truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; . . . she is the proper and sufficient
antagonistto error,and
has nothing to fear fromconflictunless by human interposition
disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate;
errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permittedfreelyto
contradict them. ...
all men shall be free to profess,and by
argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion,
and . . . the same shall in no wise diminish,enlarge, or affect
their civil capacities.9
A Bill forEstablishing
ReligiousFreedomin Padover,The World. . pp.
258-60.

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