DOUBTING THOMAS by Mark Beliles and Jerry Newcombe

When Jefferson was a young man he acted as a professing Trinitarian Christian

In 1777. Jefferson helped found an evangelical church

Now in print---for the first time ever---many religious letters and 2 sermons from the church that Jefferson funded and attended

Jefferson encouraged non-coercive religion in public life and the right of state governments to decide religious policy

DOUBTING THOMAS by Mark Beliles and Jerry Newcombe

This new book presents new evidence that calls into question the view that Jefferson was a lifelong skeptic and that he believed in the "naked public square"

When Jefferson was a young man he acted as a professing Trinitarian Christian

Later in life Jefferson changed in his views, privately, to a more unorthodox position. But the point here is that he was not a lifelong skeptic.

In 1777. Jefferson helped found an evangelical church

The same year he wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Thomas Jefferson helped create the Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville.

Now in print---for the first time ever---many religious letters and 2 sermons from the church that Jefferson funded and attended

DOUBTING THOMAS contains in the Appendix about a dozen religious letters of Jefferson that have never been in print before now, plus two sermons by Rev. Charles Clay, whose ministry Jefferson supported.

Jefferson encouraged non-coercive religion in public life and the right of state governments to decide religious policy

Jefferson approved and attended regularly the Christian worship services held Sundays at the US Capitol building and in his local courthouse. He refrained from issuing national religious proclamations but had no objection to state proclamations.

Fresh Insights About Jefferson's Religious Views Based on NEW Evidence

"DOUBTING THOMAS? The Religious Life and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson" by MARK A. BELILES and JERRY NEWCOMBE deals with the faith---or the lack thereof---of one of our most important founding fathers. But this volume provides NEW information, some of which has not been in print before. To learn more about the book, see www.americapublications.org DOUBTING THOMAS contains previously unpublished documents including a dozen religious letters by Jefferson and two sermons by his pastor Charles Clay. Jefferson voluntarily joined and donated to Clay’s Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville.

A National Cliff-Hanger

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. …

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One of Jefferson’s Earliest Criticisms of Clergy

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 …

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Jefferson Comes to Washington, DC in 1800—A Practicing Christian by Outward Appearances

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 …

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Those Who Knew Jefferson Personally Defended Him and His Professed Christianity (at this stage of his life)

Those who knew Jefferson personally tended to believe that he was a professing Christian. That does not preclude the fact that in the 1810’s and beyond (after he was president), he entertained privately some serious doubts about core Christian doctrines. Suffice it to say: it is not tenable to say …

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