Thomas Jefferson believed that a coolly rational form of religion would take root in America. Was he ever wrong.
By Rob Boston, AlterNet
January 10, 2012 | To hear the Religious Right tell it, men like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were 18th-century versions of Jerry Falwell in powdered wigs and stockings. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Unlike
many of today’s candidates, the founders didn’t find it necessary to
constantly wear religion on their sleeves. They considered faith a
private affair. Contrast them to former Speaker of the House Newt
Gingrich (who says he wouldn’t vote for an atheist for president because
non-believers lack the proper moral grounding to guide the American
ship of state), Texas Gov. Rick Perry (who hosted a prayer rally and
issued an infamous ad accusing President Barack Obama of waging a “war
on religion”) and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum (whose
uber-Catholicism leads him to oppose not just abortion but birth
control).
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