Religion Preface

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來自 University of Virginia 的課程

杰斐逊时代

257 個評分

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University of Virginia

杰斐逊时代

257 個評分

This course provides an overview of Thomas Jefferson's work and perspectives presented by the University of Virginia in partnership with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Together, UVA and Monticello are recognized internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

從本節課中

Jefferson and Religion

The role of religion in public life continues to be a topic of debate today in both the United States and around the world. Thomas Jefferson was never happier than when his Bill for Religious Freedom was finally enacted in Virginia in 1786. In this module, we’ll try to understand why Jefferson believed freedom of religion to be so essential to the future of the United States. To do this, we’ll explore the historical context in which Jefferson developed his ideas about the proper relationship between religious denominations and the state. We’ll also investigate Jefferson’s own faith—a subject of much controversy from his own day through the present. Considering Jefferson’s serious engagement with questions of religion will help us understand the kinds of communities and society he hoped would take hold and flourish in the new nation.

Religion Preface3:29

A Chapel at the University of Virginia6:43

A Chapel at Mr. Jefferson’s University10:34

與講師見面

Professor Peter S. Onuf
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor, Emeritus
Corcoran Department of History

The second of three achievements Jefferson requested be inscribed on his tombstone,

was author of the Virginia Statute for Religious fFeedom.

For Jefferson, religion and religious freedom were lifelong preoccupations and

his views continue to be discussed and debated.

Today, our goals are to understand the context in which Jefferson formulated

his ideas about religious establishments, why he considered religious freedom to be

essential for the success of the American Republic,

what Jefferson himself believed, and what he believed the future would hold.

For the religious landscape of the United States.

To begin his lecture, Mr.

Onuf discusses what many of Jefferson's fellow revolutionaries viewed

as the proper relationship between church and state in a republic.

He also introduces us to Jefferson's bill for religious freedom.

As Mr. Onuf notes,

Jefferson was ecstatic when his bill was finally passed in Virginia.

Why he was so

excited is a helpful question to consider throughout the rest of the lecture.

Jefferson's vision of religious freedom was starkly at odds with the situation

in Virginia at the time of the revolution.

There, as in many other colonies, a state religious establishment existed.

Jefferson believed that state-supported and

mandated religious denominations were the cause of many of the evils and

conflicts that had beset European civilization for centuries.

It was therefore troubling to him that even after the revolution,

many states continued to maintain religious establishments,

denying many Americans the right to worship freely, as they saw fit.

In the third part of his lecture then, Mr.

Onuf explains why Jefferson believed that in many ways the future of the new

American Republic hinged on the separation of church and state.

Indeed, many of Jefferson's allies in this fight were people of strong religious

convictions.

The threat of priest craft, to use Jefferson's term, was acute and

potentially devastating to a Republican regime.

That depended on the ability of citizens to give their informed consent

in making decisions that affected everyone.

People needed education in order to see through the mystifications and

falsehoods that Jefferson believed many religious teachers offered

to unsuspecting Americans.

This finally, leads Mr.

Onuf to discuss what it was that Jefferson himself believed.

When asked by the curious about his faith,

Jefferson often responded that he constituted a sect of one.

Yet, while he did not adhere to a specific religious denomination,

Jefferson maintained that he was indeed a Christian, he studied the Bible closely,

but in an unusual way and with a particular goal in mind.

The Jefferson Bible, that he compiled in the privacy of his home at Monticello,

offers insights into what he viewed as the essential meaning of Christianity.

Jefferson's life-long engagement with religious questions

ultimately gave him hope that Americans enjoying freedom,

would eventually come to lead more enlightened and moral lives.

This lecture should help you gain a better understanding of why Jefferson insisted on

re-configuring the role of the state in the religious life of individuals,

why he rejected the establishments that had emerged in the old world of Europe,

and had then been transported to British North America.

You should also be able to explain why Jefferson believed that freedom of

religion was so essential to the future of the United States.

That he proudly claimed credit for his role in advancing that right.

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