The Religion of Thomas Jefferson

The Jefferson Bible

In the late hours at the White House, after attending to the affairs of the state, Thomas Jefferson would take copies of the New Testament from his drawer and meticulously cut pages and paste them on blank sheets of paper. He chose only those pages that told of the moral teachings of Jesus, without reference to his divinity or supernatural powers.

After a few hours of this cut-and-paste job, Jefferson sent the made-up pages to a bookbinder who upon his instruction embossed on the cover the title “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.” Every night, he would spend an hour or so reading his new-bound book. This was his personal copy and he had only one copy of this book, although he had told his few friends about its existence.

This compilation, the so-called Jefferson Bible, reflects Jefferson’s personal beliefs. He had confided to his close friends that the clergy, thru the centuries, corrupted the moral teachings of Jesus and  befogged the scriptures with superstition and mysticism that it needed, according to the clergy, their esoteric knowledge in facilitating the faithful’s salvation.

Diamonds in a dung-hill
Writing to John Adams in 1813, he said, “I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently [Jesus’s] and which is  as easily distinguished as diamonds in a dung-hill.”

And in deference to the people’s religious sentiments at that time --- remember this was in 18th century America --- Jefferson kept his beliefs to himself and asked his close friends to keep his “secret” to themselves.

So the book was known only to a few of his surviving acquaintances. Until 1895,  when the Smithsonian Institution showcased the book in Atlanta’s Cotton States International Exposition.

In 1904, the Government Printing Office printed copies of the now known Jefferson Bible, and in the following years, sent copies to newly elected congressional legislators who used the book on their oath taking, until the copies ran out in the 1950s.

Was Jefferson a Christian?
Now we come to the big question. Was Jefferson a Christian? Jefferson, in a letter to a personal friend, “I am a Christian, in the only sense [Jesus] wished anyone to be, sincerely attached to his doctrines, ascribing to himself every human excellence.” (The Jefferson Bible, Tarcher/Penguin Edition, 2012.)

If by being a Christian means following the moral precepts of Jesus as guide to living, then Jefferson was a Christian.

But if by being a Christian means believing in divine beings, the miracles and the resurrection, then Jefferson was not a Christian. He was influenced, among others, by the views of philosophers that are sweeping Europe during the Age of Enlightenment. This was also the Age of Reason, where beliefs are subjected to empirical evidence and scientific inquiry.

At the least, Jefferson is a deist, one who believes in a god who created the universe and then sat back and let the laws of nature take its course.

In the Declaration of Independence, he writes, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people… to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature’s God entitle them….”

Clearly, Jefferson refers to human events as basis for human actions, not divine intervention. After god created the world, according to deists, its role is done and over with. Now man has to shape his own destiny. By extension, if this god can interfere at all, then this god does it thru human agents, not thru a host of angels coming down from the sky.

Ineffectual God

Now critics may say, What good is a god who has no power? He may have created the world but he cannot do anything afterward. What good is praying to such a god?

Jefferson was a visionary but he was also a product of his time. As a politician, in his campaign for the presidency, he had to reconcile his public persona from his personal beliefs. At that time, some Protestant sects were established by and received financial support from state authorities. His view of the “wall of separation between church and state” threatened the established clergymen’s position. He had to modify, in public, his radical view to the prevailing religious mood of the time.

Jefferson’s view of the constitutional provision “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” meant preventing other denominations from receiving privileged status from the government.

In his correspondences with friends like Joseph Priestly, Benjamin Rush and John Adams --- Jefferson confided that the clergy had corrupted the moral teachings of Jesus by beclouding them with superstition and mysticism. This corruption started during the early years of Christianity --- the early Christians, in order to convert as many pagans as possible, incorporated heathen practices to the new faith. Like the celebration of Christmas during the Roman harvest season in winter. Scholars say Jesus was not born in December and the scriptures do not mention Jesus’ date of birth.

Jefferson had suggested to his friends to write books on Jesus’ authentic life and teachings devoid of miracles and superstition. But eventually it fell upon him to do it himself.

Relevance of Jefferson Bible

Moving forward to the 21st century, we ask ourselves, What would Jefferson say?

First of all, he would say, Religion is a personal matter between man and his creator. In a published essay, he wrote: “I am averse to the communication of my religious tenets to the public, because it would countenance the presumption of those who have endeavored to draw them before the tribunal.”

Second, he’d say, The state should not interfere, within limits of course, in the citizen’s  free exercise thereof. In his Notes to the State of Virginia (1784), he wrote: “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are no gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”

Third, he’d say, Organized religion has corrupted the teachings of Jesus. In a letter to Benjamin Rush, he wrote: “To the corruptions of Christianity, I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself.”

And when pressed to specify, he’d say, echoing the words of his friend Joseph Priestly, “Many Christian doctrines, like the trinity, the virgin birth, original sin, and predestination --- prevented people from understanding and embracing Christian faith and that [the clergy] multiplied the mysteries of religion and promulgated superstitions. By so doing, they clouded the minds of the laity; they convinced the common people that they needed learned authorities in order to understand their duties to God and one another.” (From the essay History of the Jefferson Bible by Harry R. Rubenstein and Barbara Clark Smith, The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Institution, 2011.)

What to do now

Following Jefferson’s vision to its logical conclusion, doubting believers need to reassess their beliefs and reorganize as a new faith. I said reorganize not reform because beliefs in the divinity of Jesus, the omnipotence of an invisible god, and the afterlife, among others, are the core beliefs of Christianity. A religion stands on its core beliefs. Denying these make the religion no longer Christian, any more than calling the Pope Catholic.

And while this faith is formed as another religion, it is only organized in their commitment to the Jefferson Bible. There is no hierarchy of the clergy who lay down revealed truths from a supernatural being. There is no central authority. The members gather together in small groups to study and contemplate the human life and moral teachings of Jesus.

Jefferson believed in the personal nature of faith, that a man’s belief is between him and his god. He confided to a friend, “I am a religion by myself, as far as I know.”

If you are serious with your religious beliefs, you are not alone. If you are honest with yourself, you are not alone. If you care for your family or friends who may harbor the same doubts, you are not alone.

Please go to borromeofaith.org and read the Borromeo Faith Statement of Belief. Send your
membership application to adolfoborromeo@aol.com by writing, “Yes, I am not alone. I commit myself to the Statement of Belief.”
Thank you.

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