Jefferson, Neither Atheist Nor Outlier
Jonathan Rowe on Nov 27th 2006
Regarding Christopher Hitchens’ assertion, I don’t see anything in the historical record to indicate Thomas Jefferson was an atheist. The Straussian argument for Jefferson’s atheism — that he had to publicly proclaim belief in God, else his reputation be ruined, but didn’t really believe it — is, as Ed Brayton notes, contradicted by the fact that Jefferson claimed to firmly believe in God even in his private letters which contain the harshest anti-clerical rants, rants which, if publicly known, would have ruined his reputation.
I disagree with Sandefur that Jefferson may have written in code in his private letters to John Adams. I interpret their correspondence as showing that the two were almost entirely agreed on their personal religious creed. Call it “unitarianism,” call it “theistic rationalism,” you could even call them “Priestlians” because Joseph Priestly — the discoverer of oxygen — was probably the most important influence on both Adams’ and Jefferson’s (and other key Founders’) religious beliefs. Both Adams and Jefferson (and Franklin) commonly referred to “the corruptions of Christianity.” Priestly coined that phrase and it had very specific meaning. Priestly wrote a book entitled A History of the Corruptions of Christianity which caused masses of Trinitarian Christians to burn his house down in England, where he then fled to America for refuge.
Priestly was thought to be so “notorious” as deserving to have his house burned because the “corruptions of Christianity” turned out to be the heart and soul of orthodox Christian doctrine: “a trinity of persons in the godhead, original sin, arbitrary predestination, atonement for the sins of men by the death of Christ, and … the doctrine of the plenary inspiration of the scriptures.” (That quotation by the way, is sourced by both Gregg Frazer and Brooke Allen). So when Jefferson, Adams and Franklin referred to the “corruptions of Christianity” — as they often did — they signified they disbelieved these doctrines central to Christianity. Both Jefferson and Adams, let’s not forget, called themselves “Christian.” But this is not unlike Mormons calling themselves Christian, and then explaining, “but here is what we believe…,” and upon hearing the details, evangelical Protestants and Catholics react, “no, you aren’t Christians.”
Finally, while it may be true that Jefferson (and Madison) were outliers in the way they desired Church and State to be separate, Jefferson was not an outlier regarding his personal religious beliefs. Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison, Washington, Wilson, G. Morris, and Hamilton (before his end of life conversion to orthodox Christianity) were all likely agreed on the central tenets of their personal religious beliefs.
Update: Before any of you call me on this, many websites state that whereas Priestly’s book, “A History of the Corruptions of Christianity,” was official burned in 1785, his house and church were burned in 1791 because of his support for the American and French Revolutions.
Filed in The Belfry
Mr. Rowe,
I realize that it was not your intention, in writing this article, to falsely represent
the “Mormon” religion as being ‘non-Christian’. In fact, the correct title of the “Mormon” church is, “The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints”.
Now, what person, driving down the street, reading that sign on the side of a building could come to any other conclusion but that they were looking at a CHRISTIAN house of worship. The primary book of the religion is the very same Bible that is read and studied throughout Christianity. No doubt, your false conception (and that of the “evangelical Protestant and Catholic” critics [who, of course, are completely objective observers] arises from the fact that “Mormons” also hold as sacred another volume of Scripture entitled, “The Book of Mormon”. Have you ever taken the opportunity to open up the pages of this book? If so, you either have a significant deficiency in your powers of observation and/or your ability to read and comprehend the simplest of phrases. If you have not, I ask you what right (morally or scholarly) you have to make such a demonstrably false assertion in a publicly circulated article in which you purport to be learned and scholarly on the subject of religion. If you’d bother to take the time to educate yourself, you’d notice, that the full title of the book is, “The Book of Mormon; Another Testament of Jesus Christ” and on the TITLE PAGE of the Book of Mormon, the purpose of that book is clearly stated. Is it to glorify a personage by the name of “Mormon”? Is it to to deify Joseph Smith, the ‘earthly founder’ of the religion? Let me quote, …..
“Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL God, manifesting himself unto all nations…” That is the stated purpose of the book, and, upon reading it, you would find the divinity of Jesus Christ to be its central theme, cover to cover. Its sole purpose is to promote Faith in and Obedience to Jesus Christ and the principles he taught. It testifies that He is the Savior of all Mankind, on all continents, all lands, and even the isles of the sea, not just the Jews in Israel. It fulfills the prohecy uttered from His own lips, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16) It tells of how, after His resurrection, he appeared to His disciples on the American continent,
showed them the wounds in his hands and feet, taught them His Gospel, healed the sick, and basically re-enacted the same things He did during His ministry in Isreal. So, if the Protestants and Catholics have one book that teaches and testifies of Christ, and that qualifies them as ‘Christians’, then you might be able to argue that Mormons haveTWICE the reason to call themselves Christians as others who profess to be, but you would have a difficult time supporting the argument that “Mormons” are not Christians !!!
You may have guessed, that I AM a ‘Mormon’, and I testify to you, that Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God; that He was concieved as the son of Mary and the Son of God; that He lived a perfect life, as an example to us and to qualify as the one and only worthy to take away my sins; that He suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross to pay for my sins; that, as the mortal son of Mary, He had the ability to die, and as the immortal Son of God, He had the ability to resurrect himself, breaking the bonds of Death and making the ressurection of my corrupt body into an eternal and incorruptible one, possible.
I testify that I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior; that there is NONE OTHER through whom I can receive eternal salvation and exaltation. I testify of these things IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.
If you still have any lingering doubts, please go to and do some more research.
Please, in the future, should you have the opportunity, make it clear to your readers, listeners, etc., that ‘Mormons’ are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and are, in fact and in deed, Christians.
Thank you for your time.
Doug Davidson
Research at:
http://www.lds.org
Okay Doug I will do a post on your reply, as you have put a lot of thought into it and it deserves to be viewed by more people. I’m busy now but look for it on Friday (I just noticed it now).
I’ve already posted on this issue before and I mean no hostility to Mormons by noting that orthodox Christians (Protestants and Evangelicals) don’t consider you “Christians.”
My point was simply to show that by historical standards, the way orthodox Christianity is defined (and some argue that you must believe in these orthodox creeds to be “Christians”) Mormons don’t qualify as “Christians,” much in the same way that Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin — because they rejected the Trinity, Incarnation, Atonement, Eternal Damnation, etc. — don’t qualify as “Christians” even if they, like Mormons described themselves as such.
Orthodox? By whose standards? I find the whole debate on who is and who isn’t a Christian to be as ludicrous as the one on angels dancing on pin heads.
I would be surprised to find any branch of the Christian cult that did not consider all others to be lacking in orthodoxy.
Are Santa Claus and St. Nicholas two individuals?
Who gets to decide what’s orthodox and what isn’t?
Why does it matter if two people disagree about doctrines and dogmas that makes it necessary for one or both to claim the other isn’t a Christian? Why can’t they just condemn each other to hell the same way they condemn me?
Is there just a slight possibility that the impression I have garnered over the years has some validity? If a Christian(insert branch here) permits someone with a different dogmatic or doctrinal approach to be considered a Christian, the whole theological stew becomes unbelievable?