Jefferson authored the 1786 ACT for establishing RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM in Virginia. That Act begins with these five clauses:
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that
all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or
by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and
meanness, and are a departure from the plan of
the Holy Author of our
religion, who, being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose
not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty
power to do; [containing four different, clear and unambiguous
acknowledgments of God].
When Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, he chose the
school motto from the words of Jesus in the New Testament:
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you
free. (John 8:32).
Jefferson closed his First Inaugural Address on March 4, 1801,
with these words:
And may that Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the
universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a
favorable issue for your peace and prosperity.
In his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1805, he said:
In matters of religion, I have considered that its free
exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of
the general government. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion,
to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left
them, as the Constitution found them, under the direction and
discipline of State or church authorities acknowledged by the
several religious societies.
Jefferson concluded his Second Inaugural Address by saying:
I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we
are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native
land, and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries
and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his
providence, and our riper years with his wisdom and power; and to
whose goodness I ask you to join with me in supplications, that he
will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils,
and prosper their measures, that whatsoever they do, shall result in
your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and
approbation of all nations.
In his final State of the Union Address (November 8, 1808), he
said:
I carry with me the consolation of a firm persuasion that
Heaven has in store for our beloved country long ages to come of
prosperity and happiness.