Lincoln's God

Controversy has swirled over the question of Abraham Lincoln's religion almost since the day of his death. To bring sonic clarity to that question, this essay exploits some of the outstanding recent scholarship that has separated the mythic from the factual in Lincoln's endlessly fascinating life. It, suggests that Lincoln's faith evolved over the course of his adult life from something resembling skepticism to something closer to orthodoxy yet without ever falling neatly into conventional categories. The constant elements of his religion were a remarkable familiarity with the Bible, a strong commitment to reason, and an even stronger belief in the workings of Providence (but often a mysterious Providence).