Which US presidents were atheist (or non religious) in private?

[buritobr]

Which US presidents do you think were atheist, or at least non religious, in their private life?

Thomas Jefferson was deist. I think this information was public.
Abraham Lincoln problably was an atheist.

I believe that within the group of the most recent US presidents, only Carter, Bush and Bush were sincere believers of the Christian faith.
Reagan was not very religious during most of his life. He was divorced, he was pro-choice. He became ally of the Christian right because of political motivation. He used to get advices from an astrologist, which is considered a fake faith by the Christians. Maybe, Reagan was neither religious nor atheist.
Bill Clinton lived during the 1960s counterculture. Considering the circles of people he used to live with, it is possible that he was not religious in private.
Barack Obama had an atheist leftist father. I think it is hard for someone who was not educated by religious parents to become a true religious believer.
I believe Trump is like Reagan: ally of the Christian right only because of political motivation.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Being a Deist doesn't make one an atheist or non-religious. It does make him not a traditional Christian.

[RINO Tom]

Lincoln was absolutely not an atheist, from the evidence we have.

[vitoNova]

Jefferson, most definitely.
Lincoln
Bill Clinton
Obama

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

What about presidents that did not believe in the divinity of Christ? Such as Jefferson and Lincoln? (And I think I have read Taft also)

[RINO Tom]

"Non-Religious" in surveys is usually defined as not adhering to a given religion ... that likely takes all Presidents out of this category, even in private.  If you are asking how many "doubted Christianity" or weren't that into it or whatever, well plenty of Christians do ... that's not a disqualifying factor to being a Christian.  I only ever see this to try to swell the numbers of "Nones."  If you honestly ask how many Presidents were "Atheists" - as in, they did not believe in any higher power outside of space/time that religious groups generally identify as a "God" or creator - I say none, though my knowledge of less known figures like Buchanan or Taft and what they thought is limited.  Jefferson and Lincoln were not atheists, and that is pretty clear.  I also think it's really strange to assume President Obama was, personally.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

If one must believe that Christ is the son of God, born of the virgin birth, who died for our sins on the cross and was resurrected on the third day in order to be a Christian (as many maintain), Jefferson certainly wasn't —but he also certainly wasn't an atheist.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

In addition to Lincoln being a clearcut Christian, Barack Obama absolutely is (or at least was for most of his life) as well. How does having an atheist father who barely raised him factor into this when his grandmother crafted his formative experiences and he was a regular churchgoer at least prior to the presidency (which was a burden that probably changed much of his worldview - not certain if it changed his religious outlook).

[Sir Mohamed]

Donald Trump believes in nothing other than himself. He's just doing the Christian Right's work for political expediency. The dude is hardly religious at all, and the evangelicals just don't care as long as he nominates Federalist Society judges and stops brown people from coming in.

I think Obama and Clinton were not very religious in private. Can't answer whether they're atheists or not, though.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Lincoln was absolutely not an atheist, from the evidence we have.

His speeches later in his term were more religious than that of any previous President,   though he did not have any formal religious affiliation.

[Skill and Chance]

Lincoln was absolutely not an atheist, from the evidence we have.

His speeches later in his term were more religious than that of any previous President,   though he did not have any formal religious affiliation.

Lincoln wasn't necessarily an atheist, but he pretty clearly wasn't a Christian at least up to his inauguration.  He expressed various agnostic and later deistic beliefs in his youth and middle age.  The debate is over whether he explicitly converted to Christianity in private circa 1863.  His wife said yes, his best friend said no.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Taft yet?  He is probably the single best candidate for a president who was truly atheist in private.  He declined the presidency of Yale because he would have to affirm the divinity of Christ.  He is also said to have claimed that his church was his favorite golf course. 

Remember, strict atheism is still very rare and it was extremely rare 50+ years ago.  It's far more likely there were 5 or 10 secret deists/spiritual-but-not-religious types than pure atheists.  It's also likely that most of these irreligious presidents are from the pre-Civil War era.   The all time peak of religious observance in US history came surprisingly late, in the 1950's.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Lincoln became more religious while President (whether he officially "converted" or not). Obama became less so.

I know this is going to come across as a hackish thing to say, but Trump is honestly the only recent-ish President I can imagine affirmatively being an atheist (although I still don't think he actually is one, mostly because affirmatively being an atheist requires giving religion at least some degree of genuine thought, which there's no evidence Trump has).

Taft is also a plausible answer, although I think it's likelier that he was what he claimed to be--a sincere but not-particularly-devout Unitarian.

[afleitch]

Lincoln became more religious while President (whether he officially "converted" or not). Obama became less so.

I know this is going to come across as a hackish thing to say, but Trump is honestly the only recent-ish President I can imagine affirmatively being an atheist (although I still don't think he actually is one, mostly because affirmatively being an atheist requires giving religion at least some degree of genuine thought, which there's no evidence Trump has).

Taft is also a plausible answer, although I think it's likelier that he was what he claimed to be--a sincere but not-particularly-devout Unitarian.

Conversely, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump being the unfiltered hedonist he is probably considers himself Christian now because enough people have his ear, lay their hands and keep telling him he is.

[afleitch]

I agree with the OP on Reagan; I don't think he was particularly religious, nor was he capable of being performative enough to 'pass'. But he knew how to use the religious right, which you can only really do if you're outside of it all.

[anthonyjg]

Maybe Nixon, I wouldn’t be surprised if he stopped believing once he left home. Other than that, aside from some doubts that are pretty common, probably none of them. I’ve always been particularly skeptical of branding Obama and Trump as atheists.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Lincoln became more religious while President (whether he officially "converted" or not). Obama became less so.

I know this is going to come across as a hackish thing to say, but Trump is honestly the only recent-ish President I can imagine affirmatively being an atheist (although I still don't think he actually is one, mostly because affirmatively being an atheist requires giving religion at least some degree of genuine thought, which there's no evidence Trump has).

Taft is also a plausible answer, although I think it's likelier that he was what he claimed to be--a sincere but not-particularly-devout Unitarian.

Conversely, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump being the unfiltered hedonist he is probably considers himself Christian now because enough people have his ear, lay their hands and keep telling him he is.

I agree; he's unreflective and unselfaware to the point that very few of the realistic possibilities for what he "considers himself" religiously would surprise me.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Lincoln was absolutely not an atheist, from the evidence we have.

His speeches later in his term were more religious than that of any previous President,   though he did not have any formal religious affiliation.

Lincoln wasn't necessarily an atheist, but he pretty clearly wasn't a Christian at least up to his inauguration.  He expressed various agnostic and later deistic beliefs in his youth and middle age.  The debate is over whether he explicitly converted to Christianity in private circa 1863.  His wife said yes, his best friend said no.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Taft yet?  He is probably the single best candidate for a president who was truly atheist in private.  He declined the presidency of Yale because he would have to affirm the divinity of Christ.  He is also said to have claimed that his church was his favorite golf course. 

Remember, strict atheism is still very rare and it was extremely rare 50+ years ago.  It's far more likely there were 5 or 10 secret deists/spiritual-but-not-religious types than pure atheists.  It's also likely that most of these irreligious presidents are from the pre-Civil War era.   The all time peak of religious observance in US history came surprisingly late, in the 1950's.

While it's true the 1950s were the peak for religious observance, I don't think that says much about the prevalence of actual atheism.  Post-Civil War was more fertile ground for atheism than before. The Civil War created a crisis of faith for many- some moving toward greater belief, but many away from belief in God altogether. And for them, Darwin was now available as an alternative to Divine Providence for thinking about their place in history and the universe.

[dw93]

Jefferson was an example of a non religious (though I'm not willing to go as far as calling him an atheist) President. As far as other big name Presidents are concerned, I don't think Clinton, Obama, and Trump were/are particularly religious though again I doubt they're atheists.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

better question: which presidents were the most sincere and pious? Carter? McKinley (notorious dry who seemed to sincerely believe his imperialism was part of God's work)? Garfield (clergyman)?

[Kingpoleon]

Donald Trump believes in nothing other than himself. He's just doing the Christian Right's work for political expediency. The dude is hardly religious at all, and the evangelicals just don't care as long as he nominates Federalist Society judges and stops brown people from coming in.

I think Obama and Clinton were not very religious in private. Can't answer whether they're atheists or not, though.

It’s possible to say Bill Clinton doesn’t represent a particularly devout Christian.

One interesting thing is that Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton seem especially devout. That’s generally perceived - if not correctly so - as unusual for women raised in a mainline church.