Saying That Jefferson Has A Way With Words Would Be An Understatement

Jefferson’s query “The different religions received into that state?”, a segment of “Notes on the State of Virginia”, is a blatant critique of the Virginian governments’ approach to religious freedom, even going so far as to insinuate that political officials may be hypocritical. It may seem that in critically evaluating his government, and the then-current practices of Christianity, that Jefferson was a progressive man for his time period. While it is true that he did indeed have a radical approach to religion, it is also true that Jefferson was without a doubt a man of his time. Jefferson’s work was most likely heavily influenced by the Age of Enlightenment, when people were encouraged to believe that a logical systematic approach could be used to analyze any type of human activity. This includes, as can be seen in Jefferson’s work, practicing religion. In “Notes on the State of Virginia”, he follows a progressive thought process to explain why people should be allowed to explore their individual interpretations of religion. His rhetoric, although rather repetitive, is undeniably extremely logical. In fact, readers are so engrossed in his argument, they don’t even notice that Jefferson has just compared believing in Christianity to believing that the Earth is a “globe”, a rather ludicrous comparison when taken out of context.
But it’s more than just Jefferson’s logic that makes him convincing. Even if he were the most convincing man on Earth, if his arguments were not given credibility, they would have minimal weight (which was obviously not the case). So, what gives Jefferson credibility? First and foremost, Jefferson chooses to identify himself with Christianity. Becoming part of this group identity makes him an insider, someone that his fellow Christians can relate to. Because they feel a connection to him, it allows him to make such controversial statements as: “The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion.” If an outsider, or the Other, had made such a statement about the problems with an extremist Christian government, their arguments would have automatically been discarded. But, because Jefferson identifies himself as Christian, he has a chance of changing the then-current extremist practices of Virginia’s secular government.