“No man can conform his faith to the dictates of another. The life and essence of religion consists in the internal persuasion or belief of the mind.”
- Thomas Jefferson, 1776
A Private Endeavor
Jefferson insisted that religious
beliefs were purely of personal
and private concern. He grew up
in a world where political rulers
routinely established a single
faith as the official orthodoxy.
He promoted religious freedom
in order to secure the rights of
dissenting denominations and to
protect individuals who belonged to
no sect at all.
In accordance with this view of religion, Jefferson kept silent about his own
beliefs in most public writings. When he ran for the presidency, he refused to
reply to opponents who attacked him as "anti-Christian" and "an infidel." Yet
he did discuss Christianity, the Bible, and moral philosophy with a small circle
of friends. From the 1790s he conversed and corresponded with Revolutionary
Era colleagues, including Dr. Benjamin Rush and John Adams, and with
English scientist and theologian Joseph Priestley. These men shared Jefferson's
desire to secure tolerance for religious dissent as well as to forge a moral
compass for the new American republic. Out of such conversations emerged
the project of extracting Jesus's teachings from the New Testament to create
this private volume.
First page
