[PW] Thomas Jefferson's religion

[Mark Allan]

Here is an interesting site naming some primary sources:

http://www.sullivan-county.com/id3/jefferson_deist.htm

"Jefferson says he was a "Materialist" (letter to Short, Apr. 13, 
1820) and a "Unitarian" (letter to Waterhouse, Jan. 8, 1825). 
Jefferson rejected the Christian doctrine of the "Trinity" (letter to 
Derieux, Jul. 25, 1788), as well as the doctrine of an eternal Hell 
(letter to Van der Kemp, May 1, 1817). Further, Jefferson 
specifically named Joseph Priestly (English Unitarian who moved to 
America) and Conyers Middleton (English Deist) and said: "I rest on 
them ... as the basis of my own faith" (letter to Adams, Aug. 22, 1813). "

Mark Allan
Head, Reference
Angelo State University


At 10:04 AM 12/13/2007, you wrote:
>A former minister of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church in
>Charlottesville, Va., has researched this question and his conclusion can be
>found in a sermon at the following site:
>http://www.wsuuc.org/sermons/03archives/SER%20Thomas%20Jefferson.htm
>
>or http://tinyurl.com/2wgvuu
>
>On Dec 13, 2007 10:08 AM, Jay Lake <jlake at jlake.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > The question of Thomas Jefferson's religious affiliation has cropped up,
> > and it's heck finding decent, reliable info.  Is anyone aware of primary
> > sources referencing whether Jefferson was a Unitarian, specifically?
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Jay Lake, SFWA
> >
> > --
> >
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