[betty boop]

cre·a·tion·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kr-sh-nzm)
n.
Belief in the literal interpretation of the account of the creation of the universe and of all living things related in the Bible.

And Thomas Jefferson was a materialist in the full meaning in which I use it; someone who eschews supernatural explanation and doesn't believe in supernatural accounts.

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I don't know what dictionary you're using, USCB. But my humble little Webster's gives the definition of creationism thusly:

creationism...n (1880): a doctrine or theory holding that matter, the various forms of life, and the world were created by God out of nothing.

In other words, the natural world had a supernatural beginning. It seems obvious to me that TJ did not eschew a supernatural explanation for the beginning of the Universe. Like many rationalists, perhaps he was not entirely comfortable with that understanding. On the other hand, I never heard him postulate a purely natural or material alternative explanation.

[Diamond]

I don't know what dictionary you're using, USCB. But my humble little Webster's gives the definition of creationism thusly:

Thank you, betty boop. I would be interested in the etymology of the word, "creationism". As you pointed out earlier, it has at some point taken on decidedly pejorative denotations.

Cordially,

[USConstitutionBuff]

Websters. Online.