DRMIZER
11-17-2003, 11:01 PM
The following is the complete letter in which Thomas Jefferson used the term "separation of Church and State." The Deistic references to God as "the common Father" and "Creator of man" are similar to those Thomas Jefferson used in the Declaration of Independence. Nowhere can be found references to the Judeo-Christian gods. Following the letter are more qoutes from Jefferson that show his strong desire to keep religion and government completely separate.
January 1, 1802
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction.
My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislative should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem.
I would like to thank Dr. Robert Wolsch of the Thomas Jefferson Society for bringing the above letter to my attention. The Thomas Jefferson Society can be contacted at: 181 White St., Box 1776, Danbury, CT 06810. The editor.
"Whenever, therefore, preachers, instead of a lesson in religion, put them off with a discourse on the Copernican system, on chemical affinities, on the construction of government, or the characters or conduct of those administering it, it is a breach of contract, depriving their audience of the kind of service for which they are salaried, . . . In choosing our pastor we look to his religious qualifications, without inquiring into his physical or political dogmas, with which we mean to have nothing to do. . . ."
The above is taken from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to P.H. Windover written at Monticello, March 13, 1815
"Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error. Give a loose to them, they will support the true religion by bringing every false one to their tribunal, to the test of their investigation. They are the natural enemies of error, and of error only. Had not the Roman government permitted free inquiry, Christianity could never have been introduced."
"I doubt whether the people of this country would suffer an execution for heresy, or a three years imprisonment for not comprehending the mysteries of the Trinity. But is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? Is it government? . . . Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims."
The above two qoutes are taken from Jefferson's NOTES ON VIRGINIA, QUERY XVII, The Different Religions Received into that State
January 1, 1802
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction.
My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislative should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem.
I would like to thank Dr. Robert Wolsch of the Thomas Jefferson Society for bringing the above letter to my attention. The Thomas Jefferson Society can be contacted at: 181 White St., Box 1776, Danbury, CT 06810. The editor.
"Whenever, therefore, preachers, instead of a lesson in religion, put them off with a discourse on the Copernican system, on chemical affinities, on the construction of government, or the characters or conduct of those administering it, it is a breach of contract, depriving their audience of the kind of service for which they are salaried, . . . In choosing our pastor we look to his religious qualifications, without inquiring into his physical or political dogmas, with which we mean to have nothing to do. . . ."
The above is taken from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to P.H. Windover written at Monticello, March 13, 1815
"Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error. Give a loose to them, they will support the true religion by bringing every false one to their tribunal, to the test of their investigation. They are the natural enemies of error, and of error only. Had not the Roman government permitted free inquiry, Christianity could never have been introduced."
"I doubt whether the people of this country would suffer an execution for heresy, or a three years imprisonment for not comprehending the mysteries of the Trinity. But is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? Is it government? . . . Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims."
The above two qoutes are taken from Jefferson's NOTES ON VIRGINIA, QUERY XVII, The Different Religions Received into that State