5 Facts About The True Faith Of Thomas Jefferson

Politicians on the right love to say that the United States was conceived as being a ?Christian nation,? and that the Founding Fathers were all devout Christians. But the truth is much more nuanced than that. And the perfect example of this is the life and beliefs of Thomas Jefferson, the Third President of the United States.

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Image Via WhiteHouse.gov

Jefferson, perhaps one of the most learned and wise men to ever serve in any capacity within the American government, was a religious man and supporter of religious liberty, but he also believed in a strong and inviolable separation of church and state, which earned him more than his share of enemies.

During Jefferson’s run for the White House in 1800, his Federalist opponents accused him of being an atheist, a libertine, and also said he was a notorious philanderer who lacked morals. Despite this, Jefferson, won the election.

Thomas Jefferson almost never spoke about his beliefs in public, but his personal letters reveal that he was indeed a man who considered God and His role in the the universe.

Here are 5 facts about Jefferson’s religious beliefs that you may not have known:

1. Jefferson Wrote That He Was ‘Of a Sect By Myself’

In a letter Jefferson wrote in 1819, the former President noted:

“I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know.”

Jefferson was raised as an Anglican, but, like other Founding Fathers, was profoundly influenced by the concept of deism. Practitioners of deism believe in the presence of a supreme being, but they stress reason and rationality over religious dogma or tradition. Jefferson may have supported ?traditional? Christianity in his public life, but privately he strongly rejected traditional Christian teachings such as the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, the concept of original sin, and the resurrection.

Jefferson was deeply touched by the personal example of the life of Jesus and even commented:

?I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.?

2. Jefferson authored his own version of the Bible

Jefferson thought the true message of Jesus Christ had been corrupted over the years, so he used a knife to cut out the portions of the New Testament that dealt with the miracles performed by Jesus. He pasted the remaining portions together and published them under the title, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, which later became known as the?Jefferson Bible.

3. Jefferson attended church regularly

The Third President was involved in his local church and even went by himself at times when his family declined to join him.

4. Jefferson encouraged ?dissident? minsters

He was a good friend of a Baptist minister, John Leland, which was not a popular thing to be in New England, which was mostly Anglican. Leland shared Jefferson’s belief that there had never been and should never be any form of state religion in America.

5. Jefferson held an Iftar at the White House for Ramadan

Iftar is the evening meal which is eaten by Muslims to break their fast during the month of Ramadan. On Dec. 9, 1805, Jefferson?invited?Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, a Tunisian representative to the United States, to the White House. Jefferson moved the meal to ?precisely at sunset,? as a way of accommodating the religious beliefs of his guest.

Anytime we learn more about Thomas Jefferson, it helps us appreciate what a brilliant, tolerant, and truly unique man he was. He was also religious, but not in the sense that some seek to paint him. Jefferson was in life, as he remains in death, somewhat of an enigma. But his greatness cannot possibly be overstated.