| − | Jefferson was keenly interested in religion. He was raised in the [[Church of England]] at a time when it was the established church in Virginia and never formally left the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]], and attended church regularly near the end of his life. Despite that, biographers, historians, and theologians who have described Jefferson as a [[deism|deist]] include Richard B. Bernstein,<ref>Bernstein, R. B. ''Thomas Jefferson'' (2005, Oxford University Press)</ref> Joseph J. Ellis,<ref>Ellis, Joseph J. ''American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' (1998, Vintage)</ref> Willard Sterne Randall,<ref>Randall, Willard Sterne. ''Thomas Jefferson: A Life'' (1994, Harper Perennial)</ref> Noble E. Cunningham, Jr.,<ref>Cunningham, Noble E. ''In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1988, Ballantine Books)</ref> Fawn M. Brodie,<ref>Brodie, Fawn M. ''Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History'' (1974, W. W. Norton & Company)</ref> Edwin S. Gaustad,<ref>Gaustad, Edwin S. ''Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson'' (1996, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)</ref> Sidney E. Ahlstrom,<ref>Ahlstrom, Sidney E. ''A Religious History of the American People'' (1972, Yale University Press)</ref> David L. Holmes<ref>Holmes, David L. ''The Faiths of the Founding Fathers'' (2006, Oxford University Press)</ref> (who also believes that [[Barack Obama]] is a Christian<ref>[http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2012/mar/25/book-festival-wraps-session-presidents-faith-ar-1793519/]</ref>), Charles B. Sanford,<ref>Sanford, Charles B. ''The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1984, University of Virginia Press)</ref>, and Stephen H. Webb.<ref>Webb, Stephen H. ''American Providence: A Nation with a Mission'' (2006, Continuum)</ref> However, conservative writers such as [[David Barton]] have defended the view that Jefferson was a pious orthodox Christian.<ref>Barton, David. ''The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson'' (2012, Thomas Nelson)</ref> | + | Jefferson was keenly interested in religion. He was raised in the [[Church of England]] at a time when it was the established church in Virginia and never formally left the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]], and attended church regularly near the end of his life. Despite that, at least one historian who claims that Obama is a Christian nevertheless claims that Jefferson was merely a [[deism|deist]].<ref>David L. Holmes, ''The Faiths of the Founding Fathers'', despite describing Obama as a Christian. Conservative scholars such as [[David Barton]] point out how Jefferson was a pious orthodox Christian.<ref>Barton, David. ''The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson'' (2012, Thomas Nelson)</ref> Liberal publishing houses, such as Oxford University Press, University of Virginia Press, and Yale University Press, typically deny or downplay Jefferson's Christian beliefs. |
| | Jefferson did not believe the words of Jesus or any other part of the Bible to be divinely inspired,<ref>[http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl261.htm Letter to William Short, August 4, 1820]</ref> but he considered Jesus a great moral teacher who created "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."<ref>http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/jefferson_m_03.html</ref> Believing that the doctrines of the historical Jesus had been greatly corrupted by ignorant and superstitious "pseudo-followers," Jefferson used a razor and a paste to assemble passages from the Synoptic Gospels into a new book commonly called the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', omitting references to divinity and miracles. However, he did not necessarily agree with everything that remained, writing, "I read [Jesus's doctrines] as I do those of other antient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent."<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101)) Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]</ref> | | Jefferson did not believe the words of Jesus or any other part of the Bible to be divinely inspired,<ref>[http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl261.htm Letter to William Short, August 4, 1820]</ref> but he considered Jesus a great moral teacher who created "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."<ref>http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/jefferson_m_03.html</ref> Believing that the doctrines of the historical Jesus had been greatly corrupted by ignorant and superstitious "pseudo-followers," Jefferson used a razor and a paste to assemble passages from the Synoptic Gospels into a new book commonly called the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', omitting references to divinity and miracles. However, he did not necessarily agree with everything that remained, writing, "I read [Jesus's doctrines] as I do those of other antient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent."<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101)) Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]</ref> |