Lincoln and religion
Abraham Lincoln's religious beliefs are a matter of debate. Lincoln grew up in a highly religious family, but never joined any church. As a young man he was a skeptic. He frequently referenced God and quoted the Bible; he attended Protestant church services with his wife and children, and after the deaths of two children became more intensely concerned with God's plan for mankind.[1] He was private about his beliefs and respected the beliefs of others. Lincoln never made a clear profession of standard Christian beliefs; he did believe in an all-powerful God that shaped events and, by 1865, was expressing those beliefs in major speeches.[2]
Lincoln's parents were Hard-shell Baptists, joining the Little Pigeon Baptist Church near Lincoln City, Indiana, in 1823.[3] In 1831, Lincoln moved to New Salem, which had no churches.[4] However, historian Mark Noll states that "Lincoln never joined a church nor ever made a clear profession of standard Christian belief."[5] Noll quotes Lincoln's friend Jesse Fell: that the president "seldom communicated to anyone his views" on religion, and he went on to suggest that those views were not orthodox: "on the innate depravity of man, the character and office of the great head of the Church, the Atonement, the infallibility of the written revelation, the performance of miracles, the nature and design of...future rewards and punishments...and many other subjects, he held opinions utterly at variance with what are usually taught in the church."[6]
Noll argues Lincoln was turned against organized Christianity by his experiences as a young man witnessing how excessive emotion and bitter sectarian quarrels marked yearly camp meetings and the ministry of traveling preachers.[7] As a young man, Lincoln enjoyed reading the works of deists such as Thomas Paine. He drafted a pamphlet incorporating such ideas. Nonetheless, after charges of hostility to Christianity almost cost him a congressional bid, he kept his unorthodox interests
Lincoln's parents were Hard-shell Baptists, joining the Little Pigeon Baptist Church near Lincoln City, Indiana, in 1823.[3] In 1831, Lincoln moved to New Salem, which had no churches.[4] However, historian Mark Noll states that "Lincoln never joined a church nor ever made a clear profession of standard Christian belief."[5] Noll quotes Lincoln's friend Jesse Fell: that the president "seldom communicated to anyone his views" on religion, and he went on to suggest that those views were not orthodox: "on the innate depravity of man, the character and office of the great head of the Church, the Atonement, the infallibility of the written revelation, the performance of miracles, the nature and design of...future rewards and punishments...and many other subjects, he held opinions utterly at variance with what are usually taught in the church."[6]
Noll argues Lincoln was turned against organized Christianity by his experiences as a young man witnessing how excessive emotion and bitter sectarian quarrels marked yearly camp meetings and the ministry of traveling preachers.[7] As a young man, Lincoln enjoyed reading the works of deists such as Thomas Paine. He drafted a pamphlet incorporating such ideas. Nonetheless, after charges of hostility to Christianity almost cost him a congressional bid, he kept his unorthodox interests