Was Thomas Jefferson a Christian? (New Essay)

[Author’s note: This is the second essay that I have written about the religious beliefs of Thomas Jefferson. Some readers of the first article strongly disagreed with my conclusion that Jefferson was not a Christian. They contend that I was biased in my use of sources. This essay will focus on examining the writings of Jefferson himself. After looking at these writings I still do not believe that Jefferson was a Christian, and this essay is a presentation of Jefferson’s own words that I believe support that assertion.]

A heated topic amongst Americans is the religious beliefs of the Founding Fathers, especially those of Thomas Jefferson. Many argue that the former president was a deist[1] while others believe he was a Christian (with a minority of people thinking he was neither).

Jefferson was raised in a traditional Anglican home and was baptized into that Church. His father was an Anglican vestryman, and he was schooled by Anglican ministers at the College of William and Mary. Jefferson would baptize his children as Anglicans, remained outwardly an Anglican and Episcopalian throughout his life, and attended church with some regularity as he loved listening to good sermons.[2]

Jefferson would hold a lifelong fascination with religion to the point that the biographer of Jefferson, Edwin Gaustad, called him “the most self-consciously theological of all American presidents.”[3] This essay will examine the words of Thomas Jefferson to understand his exact thoughts on the topic of Christianity. I strongly believe that it will be shown that Jefferson was not a Christian.

Belief in a Creator[4]

A major point of agreement among almost everybody is that Thomas Jefferson was a believer in a Creator God.[5] He referred to “the Creator” or “wise creator” and discussed the subject in a letter to John Adams. He wrote that “it is impossible for the human mind not to perceive and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom.”[6] This belief in a creator is consistent with both Christianity and Deism. Disagreements arise when it comes to more specific beliefs, such as those related to Jesus.

Jefferson’s views of Jesus

Jefferson had a lot to say about Jesus. He viewed Jesus as a moralist or ethicist who had the greatest of all moral systems.[7] He believed that Jesus was a great reformer who came to improve the “depraved” ethics of the Jewish people (Jefferson had a low view of Jewish ethics; also see Table 1 below).[8]

Table 1 – What Jefferson said about Jesus’ morals and reforms

He referred to Jesus as the “first of human sages,” a “benevolent moralist,” a “master workman,” and “the most innocent, the most benevolent, the most eloquent and sublime character that ever has been exhibited to man.”[9]    “Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus.” He continued, “I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to man.”   “…his [Jesus’] part composed the most beautiful morsel of morality which has been given to us by man.”   The doctrines of Jesus were “more pure, correct, and sublime than those of the ancient philosophers.”[10]   Jefferson believed that Jesus was a reformer,[11] and he hailed him as “the great reformer of the Jewish religion,” “the great reformer of the vicious ethics and deism[12] of the Jews,” and “the greatest of all the reformers of the depraved religion of his own country.”[13] Jefferson believed that Jesus strove to reform Jewish moral doctrines to “the standard of reason, justice & philanthropy.”[14]    “Jesus had to walk on the perilous confines of reason and religion; and a step to right or left might place him within the grasp of the priests of the superstition, a blood-thirsty race, as cruel and remorseless as the being whom they represented as the family God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, and the local God of Israel.”[15]

What is most important about Jefferson’s beliefs about Jesus is that he disagreed with most of the traditional Christian doctrines about Christ.[16] Jefferson said that “it is not to be understood that I am with him in all his [Jesus] doctrines.”[17] He thought that Jesus was killed before his reason “attained the maximum of its energy” in contradiction to the Christian belief that Jesus was God.[18] Scholar Gregg Frazer says, “For him, Jesus was not infallible or perfect, but His teachings were the best one could expect from a mere man.”[19]

Jefferson did believe that Jesus was an authority on the nature of God and subscribed to “his theology” on that particular subject, but he did not believe that Jesus was God or that He claimed deity.[20] Jefferson said:

“That Jesus did not mean to impose himself on mankind as the son of God, physically speaking, I have been convinced by the writings of men more learned than myself in that lore. But that he might conscientiously believe himself inspired from above, is very possible….Elevated by the enthusiasm of a warm and pure heart, conscious of the high strains of an eloquence which had not been taught him, he might readily mistake the coruscations of his own fine genius for inspirations of an higher order. This belief carried, therefore, no more personal imputation, than the belief of Socrates, that himself was under the care and admonitions of a guardian Daemon.”[21]  

Jefferson thought that it was possible that Jesus may have thought of himself as inspired but had taken himself too seriously.[22] Jefferson listed the deity of Christ among the “artificial systems invented by ultra-Christian sects” that were “unauthorized by a single word ever uttered by him.”[23] In his edited version of the Gospels, Jefferson even omitted the passages where Jesus claimed to be God.[24]

Besides the deity of Christ, Jefferson’s religious beliefs did not align with other major Christian beliefs and doctrines. He had a negative view of Orthodox Christianity as he thought they had corrupted Jesus. This included “the immaculate conception of Jesus, his deification, the creation of the world by him [Jesus], his miraculous powers, his resurrection and visible ascension…the Trinity, original sin, atonement, regeneration, election…”[25] Each of these constitutes the core of Orthodox Christianity, yet Jefferson denied them all (completely rejecting the person and work of Christ).[26]

To add to all of this, Jefferson believed that Jesus even created his own God from the human qualities that he (Jefferson) approved of. He said, “Jesus, taking for his type the best qualities of the human head and heart, wisdom, justice, goodness, and adding to them power, ascribed all of these, but in infinite perfection, to the Supreme Being, and formed him really worthy of their adoration.”[27]

Jefferson and the Bible

Jefferson did not fully accept Scripture as accurate or as a revelation from God. He had a very negative view of most of the Old Testament as he said that “the whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it.”[28] This is not something a Christian would say.

His view of the New Testament wasn’t any different. He did not trust the writers of the Gospels in the slightest[29] and believed that “those who pretend[ed] to be his special disciples” had “disfigured and sophisticated his actions & precepts.”[30] He also said, “For if we could believe that he [Jesus] really countenanced the follies, the falsehoods, and the charlatanisms which his biographers father on him…”[31]

Jefferson believed that the words of Jesus were copied down “by the most unlettered of men, by memory, long after they had heard them from him; when much was forgotten, much misunderstood, & presented in every paradoxical shapes.”[32]

Jefferson was interested in the words of Jesus, and he referred to them as “diamonds” in the “dunghills” of the rest of the New Testament.[33] He would go on to create his own Gospel and he included only the words of Jesus that agreed with his worldview. Anything concerning miracles, Jesus’ deity, or any other core Christian doctrine was left out.[34]

He believed some parts of the New Testament came from “an extraordinary man” while “other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds.” He knew he found the words of Jesus when he found “passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence”.[35] Jefferson used his reason to determine what were the legitimate words of Jesus. Anything that contradicted his worldview was discarded.[36]

In the parts of the New Testament that he didn’t like Jefferson wrote he found “‘a groundwork of vulgar ignorance, of things impossible, of superstitions, fanaticisms, and fabrications.’ He found ‘so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being.’ He ascribed ‘trivialities and imbecilities’ to the authors of the parts of the New Testament of which he did not approve, and he called the non-Gospel authors ‘Pseudo-evangelists’ who ‘pretended to inspiration.’”[37]

Jefferson had very little to say that was positive about the Apostle Paul. Concerning Paul, he said, “Of these band of dupes and imposters, Paul was the great Coryphaeus, and first corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus.”[38]

Table 2 – Positive Views of the Bible

Jefferson did believe that parts of the Bible were genuine. For example, he loved the Psalms,[39] and he notes that not all of the Gospels could come from the feeble-minded.[40]    He wrote that the Gospels “could not be inventions of the grovelling authors who relate them. They are far beyond the powers of their feeble minds.”[41]   Jefferson used various verses or passages of Scripture to make points, explain concepts, or even support arguments.[42] This shows that he had some respect for parts of Scripture.[43]

Jesus, other religious teachers, and reading the Bible

To add to the evidence above, Jefferson placed other teachers and philosophers on the same level as Jesus.[44] He said, “Epictetus and Epicurus give laws for governing ourselves, Jesus a supplement of the duties and charities we owe to others.”[45] Jefferson believed that a person should read the Bible like any other work contradicting the Christian belief that the Bible is the Word of God and above all other human works.[46] Jefferson said:

“Read the bible then, as you would read Livy or Tacitus. The facts which are within the ordinary course of nature you will believe on the authority of the writer, as you do those of the same kind in Livy and Tacitus. The testimony of the writer weighs in their favor in one scale, and their not being against the laws of nature does not weigh against them. But those facts in the bible which contradict the laws of nature, must be examined with more care, and under a variety of faces. Here you must recur to the pretentions of the writer to inspiration from god. Examine upon what evidence his pretentions are founded, and whether that evidence is so strong, as that it’s [sic] falshood [sic] would be more improbable than a change of the laws of nature in the case he relates….The pretention is entitled to your enquiry, because millions believe it.”[47]

He related elsewhere that “I read them as I do those of other ancient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent.”[48] It is also worth noting that he looks down upon miracles in the longer quote above.

All Roads lead to God

Another major doctrine of Christianity that Jefferson rejected was the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that the only way to be saved and go to heaven is to believe in Jesus (his deity, death, and resurrection for their sins). Jefferson hated this doctrine as he thought that all religions lead to God.[49] Take a look at the following that Jefferson said:

1. “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”[50]
2. “Let us not be uneasy then about the different roads we may pursue, as believing them the shortest, to that our last abode; but, following the guidance of a good conscious, let us be happy in the hope that by these different paths we shall all meet in the end.”[51]
3. “I believe…that he who steadily observes those moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven, as to the dogmas in which they all differ. That on entering there, all these are left behind us, and the Aristides and Catos, the Penns and Tillotsons, Presbyterians and Baptists, will find themselves united in all principles which are in concert with the reason of the supreme mind.[52]

To sum it up, as long as religion teaches men to be moral then it is good.[53]

Keeping it a secret

When everything above is considered, it makes sense that Jefferson wanted his religious views kept from the public.[54] Take a look at what he told the following men:

1. To Benjamin Rush: Jefferson was “adverse to the communication of my religious tenets to the public.”[55]
2. To James Smith: He didn’t want his religious views brought “before the public.”[56]
3. To Edward Dowse: “I am obliged to caution my friends against admitting the possibility of my letters getting into the public papers, or a copy of them to be taken under any degree of confidence.”[57]

Jefferson even wanted to retrieve his letters when he could.[58] Frazer says, “These appear to be the sentiments of a public figure whose views were at variance with those of the public and who wanted desperately to avoid the loss of public esteem and reputation that would likely result from public knowledge of those views.”[59]

Conclusion

Jefferson said, “I am a real Christian.”[60] This is in clear contradiction to everything mentioned in this essay. He rejected the core doctrines of Christianity including the deity of Christ, the Trinity, Jesus’ atoning work, eternal punishment for sin, and justification by faith. He had a very negative view of the authors of the Bible and he would even make his own version of the Gospels (not something a Christian would do). He did not believe in the exclusivity of Jesus and believed other religious teachers and philosophers were on his level. All of this taken together shows us a person who was not a Christian.

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[1] Deism is a religious system where the follower believes that a god created the world and left it to operate according to natural laws. Deists do not believe that their god interacts with the world, answers prayers, or performs miracles (except for the creation of the world).

[2] John Fea, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 203. David L. Holmes, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 33, 79-80.

[3] Fea, 203, Edwin Gaustad, Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson (Grand Rapids: Eerdsman, 1996), xiii, quoted in Fea, 203. Also see Holmes, 79.

[4] Jefferson’s writings can be found at Founders Online: Printed Volumes (archives.gov).

[5] Gregg L. Frazer, The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2012), 126; Holmes, 87.

[6] June 13, 1814, letter to Thomas Law; February 27, 1821, letter to Timothy Pickering; October 14, 1816, letter to John Adams; April 11, 1823, letter to Adams. Also see Frazer, 126; Fea, 204.

[7] Fea, 205; Frazer, 146; Holmes, 83-84.

[8] Holmes, 83.

[9] April 25, 1816, letter to F.A. Van der Kemp; October 31, 1819, letter to William Short; April 9, 1803, letter to Joseph Priestley. Also see Frazer, 146.

[10] September 27, 1809, letter to James Fishback; April 19, 1803, letter to Edward Dowse.

[11] Frazer, 147.

[12] By deism, Jefferson meant the Jewish belief in one God (see Jefferson, “Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus, Compared with Those of Others,” in Works of Thomas Jefferson, 9:460-461).

[13] January 19, 1810, letter to Samuel Kercheval; January 9, 1816, letter to Charles Thomson; April 13, 1820, letter to William Short; June 25, 1819, letter to Ezra Stiles.

[14] April 9, 1803, letter to Joseph Priestley; January 29, 1815, letter to Charles Clas.

[15] August 4, 1820, letter to William Short.

[16] Frazer, 147, 148, 149, 161.

[17] April 13, 1820, letter to William Short.

[18] Jefferson, “Syllabus,” 9:461-462; April 9, 1803, letter to Joseph Priestley.

[19] Frazer, 147.

[20] Frazer, 147; Holmes, 88.

[21] August 4, 1820, letter to William Short.

[22] Jefferson, “Syllabus” 9:462; August 4, 1820, letter to William Short. See Frazer, 138.

[23] October 31, 1819, letter to William Short.

[24] Frazer, 148.

[25] October 31, 1819, letter to William Short.

[26] Fea, 205; Frazer, 142; Holmes, 88.

[27] August 4, 1820, letter to William Short. See Frazer, 161.

[28] January 24, 1814, letter to John Adams.

[29] Fea, 206. Holmes, 84.

[30] November 4, 1820, letter to Jared Sparks; April 11, 1823, letter to John Adams; April 9, 1803, letter to Joseph Priestley; Jefferson, “Syllabus,” 9:462.

[31] August 4, 1820, letter William Short, in Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 7:164.

[32] April 9, 1803, letter to Joseph Priestley.

[33] January 24, 1814, letter to John Adams; April 25, 1816, letter to F.A. Van der Kemp; October 31, 1819, letter to William Short. See Fea, 207.

[34] Fea, 206-207; Frazer, 135-138; Holmes, 83.

[35] January 24, 1814, letter to John Adams; October 31, 1819, letter to William Short; April 25, 1816, letter to F.A. Van der Kemp; April 13, 1820, letter to William Short.

[36] See Fea, 207-208; Frazer, 137.

[37] Frazer, 137. August 4, 1820, letter to William Short; April 13, 1820, letter to William Short; August 4, 1820, letter to William Short; August 10, 1787, letter to Peter Carr.

[38] April 13, 1820, letter to William Short. See Holmes, 82.

[39] January 24, 1814, letter to Adams.; October 12, 1813, letter to Adams.

[40] Frazer, 135.

[41] August 4, 1820, letter to William Short.

[42] August 4, 1820, letter to William Short; October 31, 1819, letter to William Short; July 19, 1822, letter to Benjamin Waterhouse; April 11, 1823, letter to Adams.

[43] Frazer, 136.

[44] Fea, 205; Frazer, 138.

[45] October 31, 1819, letter to William Short.

[46] Fea, 206.

[47] August 10, 1787, letter to Peter Carr.

[48] April 13, 1820, letter to William Short.

[49] Frazer, 153-156.

[50] Jefferson’s “Notes, on the State of Virginia”. See Frazer, 154; Holmes, 81

[51] September 26, 1814, letter to Miles King.

[52] September 18, 1813, letter to William Canby.

[53] Frazer, 155.

[54] Frazer, 159-160.

[55] April 21, 1803, letter to Benjamin Rush.

[56] December 8, 1822, letter to James Smith.

[57] April 19, 1803, letter to Edward Dowse. Also see April 13, 1820, letter to William Short.

[58] April 26, 1803, letter to Levi Lincoln; August 22, 1813, letter to John Adams.

[59] Frazer, 160.

[60] January 9, 1816, letter to Charles Thomson; April 21, 1803, letter to Benjamin Rush. See Fea, 206.