Thomas Jefferson's Religion

Webster’s defines deism as belief in a god’s existence based on reason rather than on divine revelation.  Thomas Jefferson did not reveal his religion to the public because he did not want people to judge him for his beliefs.  However, many people believe that Jefferson may have been a deist based on a few beliefs that were made public.

Christianity is based on the belief that Jesus, the son of God, was born from a virgin named Mary.  Many deists believe that this could not have happened, and so did Jefferson.  He believed that since it is not possible for a human to become pregnant while still being a virgin that it was not possible for even the son of God to be born of a virgin.  To believe in a virgin birth, faith in a God that cannot be seen is necessary.  Jefferson likely struggled with the faith needed to believe this.  This is a perfect example of Jefferson’s reasoning getting in the way of his religion.  It is also one of the reasons that he decided that he would create his own Bible, but in doing so, would eliminate parts of the Bible that he did not believe in.  Jefferson did not acknowledge things like Jesus feeding a multitude of people with a very small amount of food or instances where Jesus healed the sick.  It seemed Jefferson struggled to accept the miracles that Jesus performed, and while he believed and acknowledged some parts of the Bible, those aspects that required faith to believe, he simply eliminated.

His struggle with miracles, his disbelief in a virgin birth, his own intelligence and reasoning hindering his ability to believe, all lead one to believe that Thomas Jefferson was a deist.  Although he attempted to hide this fact from the public, the evidence points to deism.