Jefferson biographer Merrill Peterson comments on how Jefferson took this criticism. Jefferson was “personally hurt by the smear campaign” but thought it was reaction to his position of disestablishment which northerners had yet to embrace as Virginia had done. Note how Jefferson dealt with this unjustified criticism; he trusted that …
Not a single clergyman from the south joined in this attack on Jefferson’s faith at this time nor for that matter at any time throughout Jefferson’s lifetime. There was an Episcopal minister in Philadelphia, Rev. James Abercrombie, who on August 24, 1800, was reported in the Philadelphia Aurora newspaper to …
Although many of the ministers accusing Jefferson of unbelief hailed from New England, two of the most prominent names were ministers from New York. Hamburger notes, “The onslaught against Jefferson began in earnest when Federalist pamphlets charged that Jefferson was a deist and an infidel. William Linn and John Mitchell …
Merrill Peterson notes that Jefferson’s ties to France were a big part of the problem.[1] He writes: “Infidelity, Jacobinism, Disunionism—these were the most dreadful evils the people had to fear from the lean and crafty Virginian.” “The source of Jeffferson’s malignity was French philosophy. He was a visionary theorist, ‘a …
1800 marks the first overt attack on Jefferson’s faith ever. There had been a couple vague attacks a couple years earlier without naming Jefferson specifically or identifying a specific sign of heretodoxy. Many scholars note that this was for political reasons by northerners associated with the Federalist opposing party. Jefferson …
Jefferson was not as anti-clerical as he is often thought to be today. He certainly criticized state-churches and abuse of power by clergy. Jesus Himself was delivered over to be crucified by a type of state-clergy. The criticism of European clergy in politics is consistent but it was different in …
Jefferson’s friend Bishop James Madison, the first bishop of the Virginia Episcopal Church, which became independent of Anglicans in 1790, was far from being an opponent of Jefferson. In fact, the bishop had managed to lead some of the Episcopal Church in Virginia into the same political party as their …
Jefferson had harsh words for any clergy who abused political power through his office. But that does not mean he condemned all clergy who he knew that were involved in politics. The 1777 church Subscription document Jefferson drafted reported that during the Revolutionary War Rev. Charles Clay was known for …
In a recent blogpost, we noted that Jefferson did not hate the clergy, as some commonly think today. Now we want to explore this further. Contrary to the modern idea of Jefferson as a sort of minister-hater, there were about 322 ministers or ministries that Jefferson is proven to have …
Contrary to the modern understanding of Thomas Jefferson, our third president enjoyed many positive relations with various clergymen and active laypeople, the majority of whom were believers in historic Christianity. However, he was the recipient of a vicious attack by northern clergymen during the 1800 election—primarily because of a misinterpretation …