Our book, DOUBTING THOMAS, shows that Thomas Jefferson had a much more nuanced view on Christianity than is often thought. He was not a lifelong atheist or closet skeptic. Earlier in life, he was a professing Christian. Later in life, he quietly questioned some core Christian doctrines. Then, in the …
Our book, DOUBTING THOMAS, covers the religious life and legacy of our third president. We believe the evidence is overwhelming that Thomas Jefferson was not a lifelong skeptic—that said, he apparently doubted some major Christian doctrines later in life, at least on a private basis. Here we talk about some …
Most Americans are not aware of the fact that in early 1801, we did not know who the third president would be—Thomas Jefferson or Aaron Burr. The two of them were running for president independently. They both handily beat John Adams. But they were both tied with electoral college votes. …
Here comes one of the earliest criticisms we can find from Thomas Jefferson of the clergy. It comes in 1801—when he was almost 60 years old. This criticism was as related to POLITICS as much as it was to religion. The idea that our third president was a lifelong skeptic …
On November 27, 1800, Jefferson moved to Washington, D. C. where the new Capitol opened. In Margaret Bayard Smith’s First Forty Years of Washington Society, she wrote: “…During the first winter, Mr. Jefferson regularly attended service on the sabbath-day in the humble church. …The custom of preaching in the Hall …