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 Thomas Jefferson "And may that Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a favorable issue for your peace and prosperity. " First Inaugural Address March 4, 1801 "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties." Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists He wrote the letter explaining why he as President would not issue a nation wide day of thanksgiving and prayer as did the Presidents before him. He ended the letter "I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem." He prayed to the very same God that the Baptist prayed to. Allot of people like to lay claim to having Thomas Jefferson in the ballpark of their beliefs Deist claim him, Christians claim him, so do the Episcopalians and the Unitarians. I personally think he fell a bit short of all of these beliefs, but my opinion isn't important. What he considered himself to be is what is really important . And according to Religion and the Federal Government: PART 2 "It is no exaggeration to say
that on Sundays in Washington during
the administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and of James
Madison
(1809-1817) the state became the church. Within a year of his
inauguration,
Jefferson began attending church services in the House of
Representatives.
Madison followed Jefferson's example, although unlike Jefferson, who
rode
on horseback to church in the Capitol, Madison came in a coach and
four.
Worship services in the House--a practice that continued until after
the
Civil War--were acceptable to Jefferson because they were
nondiscriminatory
and voluntary. Preachers of every Protestant denomination appeared"
If Thomas Jefferson attended Church in the House of Representatives
under a Protestant Preacher he clearly considered himself a Christian,
and
certainly did not interpret the Wall of Separation between Church and State the same way the ACLU does. The only question left is who are you going to believe about that wall, the ACLU or our Founding Father Thomas Jefferson? Please read more about Religion and the Federal Government: at the Library of Congress Website
I would like to thank The Library of Congress for the use of the Image of Thomas Jefferson. |
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