Thomas Jefferson Did Not Worship Jesus
A person’s religious faith is a sacred thing in American law and society. A thing to respect, to protect, to celebrate, to be proud of.
But that doesn’t mean any Faith can claim the country, the government, the Founding, or the Constitution as its own.
The fact that your religion happens to be evangelical doesn't mean everyone else is going to just get out of the way. In America, we make room for others.
“This is a country founded on Christian ideals. The Founders were Christians, by and large. (Not Thomas Jefferson). But most of the rest of the big ones were.”
That’s like saying, “The jury reached a unanimous verdict – except for the foreperson.”
For the sake of argument, let’s quickly assume that this is a Christian nation. What flows from that next?
“Biblical tradition is the cornerstone of ‘our’ culture. ‘Our’ democracy. ‘Our’ country. America is rooted in the ‘Judeo-Christian tradition’” (a cute little concept that did not exist until the 20th century, by the way). Christian nationalists can be very persuasive once you submit that this is a Christian nation. The Ten Commandments would basically be American law at that point. (Can you imagine?!?! Who would be in jail that is free now?!?!?! Everyone?!?!?)
Now, even if America had been founded as a Christian nation, so what? The Founders also put the 3/5th clause in the Constitution, forever enshrining in that holiest of civic documents a reference to “three fifths of all other persons” – slaves. The Founders fought and fought over this issue and how to resolve it. This was the best the Founders could manage – “count all the Black people in the South as 3/5 of a human”.
Biiiig swing-and-a-miss.
So clearly, the Founders didn’t get everything right.
It is fair to question their authority and wisdom on all Founding decisions, and to do so considering their personal backgrounds and perspectives.
In fact, the Founders must be questioned. Forever. Repeatedly. They are not unimpeachable. That’s what they expected us to do. After all, the Constitution has 27 Amendments.
(Some synonyms of “amendment”: revision, alteration, change, modification, qualification, adaptation...)
But that’s all moot here, really, because America is not and has never been a Christian nation.
And why would it be?
Jesus Christ doesn’t need a nation on Earth. He’s above all this nasty stuff we’re squabbling over in this earthly life. Right?
Jesus Christ’s nation is Heaven, according to the Bible.
“But there weren’t any Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or Zoroastrian Founding Fathers.”
Fine. But there were a lot of non-Christians. Some were nothing at all. And having no religion is, as far as the Constitution is concerned, protected religious expression.
Jefferson, for one, rejected the idea that Jesus was divine. He deeply admired Jesus’ message, though. He kept his own “Jefferson’s Bible” consisting of his own curation of Jesus’ teachings. Jefferson took all of Jesus’ miracles out of his “Bible”. That’s not something a Christian does.
Muslims, by and large, doctrinally revere Jesus kind of the way Jefferson did. Jesus is a prophet in Islam. A very wise man of God.
But that doesn’t mean Muslims are Christian. Because they aren’t.
Jefferson was a Deist (a.k.a. religious rationalist). He believed in something like a God “out there”. This was very common in those days.
These were some other Deist-leaning, Christian-skeptic, starting lineup Founding Fathers:
Ethan Allen.
Thomas Paine.
James Madison.
John Adams.
Benjamin Franklin.
George Washington.
And do you know what these non-Christian and Christian Founders alike collectively said about Christianity or any religion’s role in their new Government during the Founding?
Take that somewhere else. It doesn’t belong in our Government.
Not just to protect the Government from the Church. But also to protect the Church from the Government.
Do you really want the State mucking about in your Church?
Instead, the Founders urge, take that to the church or temple or mosque or shrine of your choosing. Or don’t participate in any religion.
And our Constitution will protect your right to do that ABSOLUTELY.
Christian Nationalism aims to protect “our” culture, “our” democracy, “our” country? Vague terms, undefinable even. But people sure want “their” things to belong to them, don’t they?
Whosever it is, if America had been founded as a Christian nation, it sure would have been nice of the Founders to write that down somewhere official. Ideally, to avoid foreseeable confusion, they would have put it in the Constitution before the First Amendment. You know, the one with the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
So Christian Nationalists – let me get this straight:
You want Americans to focus on the Founders’ Christianity-literate ethnic and cultural identities and ignore the laws and words they actually put in the Constitution?
Why did they even bother having a Constitutional Convention?
But hear this good news Christian Nationalists, and do not despair, for you can have a United Christian States of America.
You’re just going to have to amend the Constitution to get it.
Godspeed.
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Please watch, and more importantly, listen to this 20-minute sermon by Rev. Chris Henry of Second Presbyterian, Indianapolis: https://youtu.be/C9-ImmDdW_Q?si=ugnaDiRX0JR-eehE