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 To learn more about the book, see www.americapublications.org DOUBTING THOMAS contains previously unpublished documents including a dozen religious letters by Jefferson and two sermons by his pastor Charles Clay.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.

On Jefferson and Religion

Jefferson lived in an environment that was strongly pro-Christian. There were many revivals going on around the time of Jefferson. It was in the air he breathed in Virginia. Only God knows the ultimate state of Jefferson’s personal soul. But the key point is that Thomas Jefferson would not have …

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Dangerous Fallout from Misreading Jefferson

Ideas have consequences. As we show in our book, Doubting Thomas, the Supreme Court in 1947 misread Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. They made that misinterpretation the key arbiter of church-state relations. This has not only done much to discriminate against the Christian religion, which helped play a …

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Misreading Jefferson on Church-State Continues to Unleash Persecution in America

Jefferson was not in the country when they wrote the Constitution. He was not there when the founders wrote up the First Amendment, with its guarantee of religious freedom. But by taking him out of context 150 years or so after he wrote a private letter, the Supreme Court began …

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75 Years After Independence

A misreading of Jefferson foisted separation of church and state (really, the separation of God and state) on America. The founding fathers, including Jefferson, would have vehemently disagreed with what has been happening as a result. About 75 years after the Revolutionary War, some critics challenged the concept that America …

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