General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Our founding fathers were not Christians. [View all]JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)They admired the teachings of Jesus.
Some might consider them Christians. Strictly speaking, today I believe that most Christians define themselves as believers in the divinity of Christ. If that is how you define Christian then Jefferson and Adams and probably Franklin, probably others whose writings I do not know quite as well as I do those of Jefferson and Adams, were not Christians.
If you define a Christian more liberally (as used to be perfectly acceptable in some mainline churches) to include people who do not strictly believe in the divinity from birth of Jesus but to include those who believe that we should follow Jesus' teachings because they are wise and good, then Jefferson and Adams would be considered Christians.
Fundamentalists who believe in being born again, etc. would not have considered Jefferson and Adams to be Christians had they known them.