Editing Thomas Jefferson (section)

===Religion===
{{Main|Religious views of Thomas Jefferson}}
[[File:Thomas Jefferson Bible Lined Cover.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A leather-bound Bible|The ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', which features only the words of [[Jesus]] from his disciples, written in parallel [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]], [[French language|French]], and English]]

==== Christianity ====
Baptized in his youth, Jefferson became a governing member of his local [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] in [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]], which he later attended with his daughters.<ref>[[#Randall|Randall, 1994]], p. 203.</ref> Jefferson, however, spurned Biblical views of Christianity.<ref name="Cunningham 2020">[[#Cunningham (December 28, 2020)|Cunningham (December 28, 2020)]]</ref> Influenced by [[Deism|Deist]] authors during his college years, Jefferson abandoned orthodox Christianity after his review of [[New Testament]] teachings.<ref>[[#TJFReligion|TJF: "Jefferson's Religious Beliefs"]]</ref><ref>[[#Onuf07|Onuf, 2007]], pp. 139–168.</ref> Jefferson has sometimes been portrayed as a follower of the liberal religious strand of Deism that values reason over revelation.<ref name=":1a">{{Cite web |title=People and Ideas: Early America's Formation |url=http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/thomas-jefferson.html |access-date=April 30, 2022 |website=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] |language=en |quote=Like other Founding Fathers, Jefferson was considered a Deist, subscribing to the liberal religious strand of Deism that values reason over revelation and rejects traditional Christian doctrines, including the Virgin Birth, original sin and the resurrection of Jesus. While he rejected orthodoxy, Jefferson was nevertheless a religious man. [...] Influenced by the British Unitarian Joseph Priestley, Jefferson set his prodigious intellect and energy on the historical figure at the center of the Christian faith: Jesus of Nazareth. Jefferson became convinced that Jesus' message had been obscured and corrupted by the apostle Paul, the Gospel writers and Protestant reformers.}}</ref> Nonetheless, in 1803, Jefferson asserted, "I am Christian, in the only sense in which [Jesus] wished any one to be".<ref name="Randal583"/>

Jefferson later defined being a Christian as one who followed the simple teachings of Jesus. Influenced by [[Joseph Priestley]],<ref name=":1a" /> Jefferson selected New Testament passages of Jesus' teachings into a private work he called ''The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth'', known today as the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', which was never published during his lifetime.<ref name="Jefferson Bible, 1820">[[#Jesus|Jefferson Bible, 1820]]</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">[[#Religion|Thomas Jefferson's Religion]]</ref> Jefferson believed that Jesus' message had been obscured and corrupted by [[Paul the Apostle]], the [[Four Evangelists|Gospel writers]] and [[Protestant Reformers|Protestant reformers]].<ref name=":1a" /> Peterson states that Jefferson was a [[Theism|theist]] "whose God was the Creator of the universe&nbsp;... all the evidences of nature testified to His perfection; and man could rely on the harmony and beneficence of His work".<ref>[[#Peterson70|Peterson, 1970]], ch. 2 [e-book].</ref> In a letter to [[John Adams]], Jefferson wrote that what he believed was genuinely Christ's, found in the Gospels, was "as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill".<ref name="Cunningham 2020"/> By omitting miracles and the [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]], Jefferson made the figure of Jesus more compatible with a worldview based on reason.<ref name="Cunningham 2020"/>

Jefferson was firmly [[Anti-clericalism|anticlerical]], writing in "every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty&nbsp;... they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon."<ref>[[#Wood2010|Wood, 2010]], p. 577.</ref> The full letter to Horatio Spatford can be read at the National Archives.<ref>[[#archives|U.S. Gov: National Archives]]</ref> Jefferson once supported banning clergy from public office but later relented.<ref>[[#Finkelman2006|Finkelman, 2006]], p. 921.</ref> In 1777, he drafted the [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]]. Ratified in 1786, it made compelling attendance or contributions to any state-sanctioned religious establishment illegal and declared that men "shall be free to profess&nbsp;... their opinions in matters of religion".<ref>[[#Yarbrough2006|Yarbrough, 2006]], p. 28.</ref> The Statute is one of only three accomplishments he chose for his epitaph.<ref>[[#Peterson|Peterson, 2003]], p. 315.</ref><ref>W. W. Hening, ed., Statutes at Large of Virginia, vol. 12 (1823): 84–86.</ref> Early in 1802, Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Connecticut Baptist Association that "religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God". He interpreted the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] as having built "a wall of [[Separation of church and state|separation between Church and State]]".<ref>[[#Meacham|Meacham, 2012]], pp. 369–370.</ref> The phrase 'Separation of Church and State' has been cited several times by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in its interpretation of the [[Establishment Clause]].<ref>Neem, Johann N. "Beyond the Wall: Reinterpreting Jefferson’s Danbury Address." Journal of the Early Republic, vol. 27, no. 1, 2007, pp. 139–54. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/30043478 JSTOR website] Retrieved January 5, 2025.</ref>

Jefferson donated to the [[American Bible Society]], saying the [[Four Evangelists]] delivered a "pure and sublime system of morality" to humanity. He thought Americans would rationally create "[[Beekeeping|Apiarian]]" religion, extracting the best traditions of every denomination.<ref>[[#Meacham|Meacham, 2012]], pp. 472–473.</ref> He contributed generously to several local denominations near Monticello.<ref>[[#Randall|Randall, 1994]], p. 555.</ref> Acknowledging [[organized religion]] would always be factored into political life, he encouraged reason over supernatural revelation to make inquiries into religion. He believed in a [[Creator deity|creator god]], an [[afterlife]], and the sum of religion as loving God and neighbors. But he also controversially rejected fundamental Christian beliefs, denying the conventional Christian [[Trinity]], Jesus's divinity as the [[Son of God]] and miracles, the Resurrection of Christ, atonement from sin, and [[original sin]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref>[[#Meacham|Meacham, 2012]], pp. 471–473.</ref><ref>[[#CITEREFSanford1984|Sanford, 1984]], pp. 85–86.</ref> Jefferson believed that original sin was a gross injustice.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Jefferson's unorthodox religious beliefs became an important issue in the [[1800 United States presidential election|1800 presidential election]].<ref name=Wood586>[[#Wood2010|Wood, 2010]], p. 586.</ref> Federalists attacked him as an [[atheist]]. As president, Jefferson countered the accusations by praising religion in his inaugural address and attending services at the Capitol.<ref name=Wood586/>

==== Islam ====
In October 1765, while Jefferson was still a law student he bought a copy of the [[Quran]] from the year 1734.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Manseau |first1=Peter |title=Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur'an |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-thomas-jefferson-owned-qur-1-180967997/ |access-date=December 21, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> He had the Quran shipped from England to Williamsburg, Virginia.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Surprising Story Of 'Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an' |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/10/12/230503444/the-surprising-story-of-thomas-jeffersons-quran}}</ref> He was interested in comparative religions. [[Keith Ellison]] was sworn in on Jefferson's copy of the Quran.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLRCk68BZ00 |title=How Muslims Influenced Thomas Jefferson and America's Founders {{!}} American Muslims |date=December 19, 2024 |last=PBS |access-date=December 21, 2024 |via=YouTube}}</ref>