Lincoln and religion

[Thomas Thorne]

It seems to me Lincoln's attitude toward religion went thru three phases. First he was the precocious young man who enjoyed exercising his mind by mocking religion-second he was the rising politician who dared not offend his listeners by questioning the religious conventions of his time and place-and lastly the beleaguered wartime president lashed to the desperate necessity of condemning hundreds of thousands of his countrymen to their doom. Certainly nothing in his life had prepared him for that. One would be surprised if Lincoln had not turned to religious consolation which culminated in the epic piety of the Second Inaugural.

Everyone rightly quotes the "With Malice Toward None" peroration with its universal application to all wars. Perhaps the piety of the first part does not resonate as well in an increasingly secular world.
Tom