Abaham Lincoln's Skepticism

RazorOutlaw · Post by **RazorOutlaw** » 2007-09-26 12:15pm

Mmm, fun topic. I'm taking a course this semester called "The Religious Beliefs of Abraham Lincoln" and in this course we have to write a paper on Lincoln or some person or subject associated with him. Since this course asserts that Abraham was spiritual (that he was basically a non-denominational Christian, didn't go to church but held ideas about God like he believed in Him) I wanted my paper to be about how this isn't the case.

I don't intend to go over the entire syllabus and counter each point made by my professor, even if he does gloss over Lincoln's apparent skepticism. I'd rather just stick to how he was more skeptic than anything else.

The catch my library appears to be sparse on material concerning this subject specifically, and I swore I saw a book posted here once that dealt with Lincoln's lack of belief. If I had a name or an author or even a couple of other books that dealt with his skepticism, that'd be great. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

Eris · Post by **Eris** » 2007-09-26 02:48pm

I admit I have very little experience with the subject, so I won't be much help there. I was curious though, an entire course on Lincoln's religiosity? How in the world did they manage that? I can't see going into that much depth, even in something like a graduate level course. (Although granted, I get more unfamiliar with course layouts the farther I get from mathematics and the sciences.)

RazorOutlaw · Post by **RazorOutlaw** » 2007-09-26 02:59pm

I had somebody else give me the same reaction, but the only thing I can figure is how complex Abraham is and given that he's a President that just makes the subject all the more interesting.

Although we haven't covered a great of his religious beliefs yet. The first weeks before the test, which is tomorrow, cover his family history as far back as it was recorded up until his early twenties. We also covered how the people he knew influenced his religious beliefs. I'm pretty sure the course is going to cover 50/50 his life and beliefs. That's how they make it into a course.

Haruko · Post by **Haruko** » 2007-09-26 03:31pm

I recommend Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Has a lot about his skepticism and religiosity. Apparently he became more religious in the latter years of his presidency, but for a long time he's had significant skepticism. For example of his skepticism, at one point he's said to have outright denied the existence of the afterlife.

RazorOutlaw · Post by **RazorOutlaw** » 2007-09-28 01:06am

Well if he did in fact become more religious as time went on then there's no point in arguing that he was really a skeptic. I have other options so I'm not wanting for topics here fortunately.