How many US presidents have either been atheist or agnostic?

queproblema

None have admitted to being so, and all have claimed to be Christian in some sense or have invoked the Christian God. http://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html Jul 08 07, 6:36 AM

queproblema

Jefferson was an Anglican, later an Episcopalian, then a Unitarian in outlook though not a member of what was then a Christian sect, and he held many Deist beliefs. His last words were, "I resign myself to my God, and my child to my country." http://www.adherents.com/people/pj/Thomas_Jefferson.html "James Madison was an Episcopalian. "James Madison attended St. John's Episcopal Church while he was President. Some sources classify Madison was a deist." http://www.adherents.com/people/pm/James_Madison.html Lincoln's friend, Herndon, said he was an agnostic and an atheist, yet he himself said, "I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." Another friend said he prayed every morning in the White House. His speeches were full of allusions to the Bible and to God, and he proclaimed national days of prayer and fasting. http://www.positiveatheism.org//hist/steiner0.htm#LINCOLN http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/1611 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_and_religion http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/proc-3.htm My personal opinion, having read Sandburg's three volumes of his life and D. H. Donald's masterful biography, is that Lincoln was in fact an agnostic who was respectful, perhaps even envious, of others' faith, and a shrewd politician who purposefully used tropes that resonated with the American people. All of this is contained in my much briefer first answer. :-) Oct 03 08, 7:30 PM

DoctorSerizawa

William Howard Taft did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft Nov 11 08, 10:56 AM