“It’s obvious who Jefferson got his ideas of freedom from.”
There are three huge problems with that.
1) In Europe Catholicism never brought individual freedom to the nations it ruled via Catholic Monarchs. Nearly all Protestant rule over there was just as bad. But freedom of thought certainly never followed Catholicism.
2) Do you have the slightest evidence that Jefferson used any Catholic thought to form his opinions? He wrote widely on his readings and influences, where is the record. It is not simply “obvious”.
3) In a general sense, Catholicism and its effect on Europe was generally viewed as an anathema to the founders. This feeling lasted well into the 20th century. What evidence do you have that the founders had high regard for Catholic thought?
None of this is to disparage Catholics today who are my Christian bretheren, but its very misleading to act like this nation was founded on Catholic thinking.
And again, this is not anti Catholic. I regard the Catholic Spanish arriving in the Aztec world of Mexico as almost identical to the Allied Armies liberating the Nazi death camps. But the RCC wasn’t the impetus behind the US Constitution.
“Do you have the slightest evidence that Jefferson used any Catholic thought to form his opinions”.
Tell me that statement is a joke.
The last thing Jefferson wanted, was Catholic anything.