Theology and Politics in the Declaration of Independence

Jon Paulson

Allen Jayne. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence: Origins, Philosophy and Theology. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998. xiii + 245. Appendix, notes, bibliography, index. $39.95 (cloth); 18.00 (paper).

In the last few decades, the American public has seen increasing discussion of the relationship between church and state as religious groups have tried to take an increasing role in the political process. Indeed at this writing, President Bush had just announced his initiative for “Faith Based Services,” which is renewing the discussion of the separation of church and state. One common warrant underlying such discussion is the concept of the faith of the Founders, especially in the ways divine sanction is invoked in key documents such as the Declaration of Independence.

In Jefferson’s Declaration, Allen Jayne has added his voice to those who wish to clarify the intent of the founders by exploring the sources of Jefferson’s thought as he wrote the Declaration. Jayne’s argument is that when Jefferson invoked “Nature’s God” in the Declaration, he was referring to something quite different than the God of mainstream and traditional Christianity. He provides a careful examination into Jefferson’s thoughts and sources in his attempt to clarify the intent of at least this one founder with regard to the separation of church and state, as well as to provide insights into how Jefferson was influenced by the philosophical and theological debates of the eighteenth century.

Jayne described his purpose as twofold: “to trace where [Jefferson] got those ideas by examining some of the writings of some of the authors he read before he drafted that document” and “to demonstrate that Jefferson’s worldview was promulgated in the Declaration not only as political theory that justified political independence from Great Britain but also as heterodox theology, which Jefferson believed was inextricably linked to the efficacy of the Declaration’s democratic polity” (6-7).

In pursuing these purposes, Jayne does a good job with regard to exploring some of the sources of Jefferson’s thought, outlining many of the important debates of Eighteenth Century philosophy and thought, especially with regard to theological issues. Particularly useful here is Jayne’s exploration of the writings and philosophy of Bolingbroke, Kames, and Reid, despite his relative de-emphasis on the more traditional sources such as Locke and Rousseau. However, because Jayne wants to attribute influence only to works he can document Jefferson as actually having read (through his chapbooks, letters, and library holdings), there are some inherent limitations on the comprehensiveness of this analysis, since his strict adherence to verifiability through archives factors out other influences on Jefferson, such as borrowed or lost texts and conversation. Overall, Jayne does a much better job of looking at the influences on Jefferson’s thought in general than he does in linking these ideas directly to the Declaration. His discussions of the document itself come in fits and starts, so readers looking for direct discussion of the text itself may find this book of limited use.

With regard to his second purpose Jayne is more successful. Most discussions of the Declaration have focused on political theory. Jayne's explorations of the theological bases of Jefferson’s thought add an important dimension to the study of both the Declaration and Jefferson. Whereas many studies that discuss theology and the Declaration, most notably Carl Becker’s classic The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas (1958), tend to view the theological issues as stemming from a response to the notion of divine right of kings, Jayne begins with the eighteenth-century debates over predestination, and works from there to a discussion of the idea of God as Nature. This examination provides an interesting argument about Jefferson’s image of God and thus his use of divine guidance and sanction as a warrant in the Declaration. Whether Jefferson used the Declaration as an instrument for promulgating his Deist theology is an interesting question, but one that will not likely be resolved entirely by Jayne’s arguments: it is one of the controversial areas that will no doubt draw much attention and debate in subsequent works. Jayne’s analysis does call attention to current conflicts over separation of church and state, and implies that Jefferson would probably disagree vehemently with those who see the appeals to God in the Declaration as a justification for some blending of government and religion.

Overall, this book would be a good resource for those studying Jefferson’s thought as it relates to eighteenth-century philosophy, and would be of interest to those studying the rhetoric surrounding the Declaration, as well as for scholars exploring the debates over church and state separation. However, despite Jayne’s reasonable critiques of the seminal works on sources of the Declaration, especially those of Becker (1958) and Wills (1979), this volume should probably not be seen as a replacement for these important works. Instead, it makes a good companion to be read along with these works, providing a more theological perspective and careful attention to some of Jefferson’s sources.

Jon Paulson is Assistant Professor of Communication at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

Works Cited

Becker, Carl L. The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. New York: Vintage, 1958

Wills, Garry. Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. New York: Vintage, 1979.