As Jefferson Retired from the White House, He Continued Positive Relations with the Clergy
Contrary to the myth of Thomas Jefferson, the lifelong skeptic or the believer in separation of God and state, the real Thomas Jefferson is much more nuanced in his views. Our book, DOUBTING THOMAS, co-written by Dr. Mark Beliles (a long time pastor in Jefferson’s hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia) and …
Religious Language in Jefferson’s Correspondence
The phrase “the separation of church and state” is not in the U.S. Constitution. Instead, it’s found in a private letter from Thomas Jefferson that the Supreme Court used in a 1947 decision that forever altered church/state relations in America. We are often given the impression that our third president …
Jefferson Did Not Advocate the Naked Public Square
The idea that Thomas Jefferson was a lifelong unbeliever cannot be substantiated with the facts. Later in life, because of the influence of Unitarianism, he did begin to privately question key Christian doctrines. But earlier in his life, even when he was president, he was active as a professing Christian. …