Thanksgiving and Faith

Religious Experiences of the Holiday

Thanksgiving is a holiday with important religious dimensions for many people, while at the same time not belonging to any one faith tradition, and indeed being observed in a secular way by many. This rich multiplicity is yet another facet of this complex holiday, and will be explored through diverse texts, images, and other materials in this section of the site. On this topic, we also suggest consulting the specific proclamations by presidents, governors, and other officials (see the Thanksgiving Proclaimed section of this Web site).

This Web site is a work in progress. Please revisit often as we continue to build it with new materials. We also welcome your suggestions or contributions of material; to send us an email, click here; or phone 434 924-3296.

Jefferson in 1802: "...a matter...solely between man & his god"
Unlike Washington and Adams, the third president chose not to proclaim any national Day of Thanksgiving. In a famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, he put forward his reasons. The text below is for a draft, and details some of the changes he made as he worked on the letter. The phrase "wall of eternal separation between Church & State," which was retained in the final version of the letter, became one of his most famous. To read the text of the final letter as sent, click here. To read an article by Library of Congress exhibit curator James Hutson about the document, click here. The fact that, as Virginia governor, Jefferson had indeed proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving (see below) complicates matters in interesting ways.

To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem & approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and, in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more & more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate 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 legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" thus building a wall of eternal separation between Church & State. Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorised only to execute their acts, I have refrained from prescribing even those occasional performances of devotion, practiced indeed by the Executive of another nation as the legal head of its church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect,

[Jefferson first wrote: " confining myself therefore to the duties of my station, which are merely temporal, be assured that your religious rights shall never be infringed by any act of mine and that. " These lines he crossed out and then wrote: " concurring with "; having crossed out these two words, he wrote: " Adhering to this great act of national legislation in behalf of the rights of conscience "; next he crossed out these words and wrote: " Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience I shall see with friendly dispositions the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced that he has no natural rights in opposition to his social duties. "]

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & the Danbury Baptist [ your religious ] association assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802

Go back to top of page

Jefferson in 1779: "A day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty God"
Jefferson was governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781, and in that capacity he proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving. In light of the more oft-cited and famous "Danbury letter," the 1779 proclamation acquires great interest. Did Jefferson's choice, as president, not to proclaim a national day of Thanskgiving rest simply on his constitutional views--that is, that, while beyond the federal government's purview, such matters were legitimate prerogatives of the states? Or had his thinking on the matter changed in the course of two decades? The full text of this proclamation will be provided here shortly, along with other, related materials.

I appoint . . . a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty God. . . to ask Him that He would . . . pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel; that He would . . . spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; . . . and that He would establish these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue.