Thomas Jefferson Had A Bizarre Religious View Most People Haven't Heard Of

As a Founding Father and widely revered former president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson is undeniably among the most important figures in American history. To this day, he’s known far and wide as something of a symbol of his nation’s character. But Jefferson was hiding an explosive religious secret from the American public – and it would likely have shocked his contemporaries to their cores.

Religious Roots

Religion still, of course, plays a massive part in the lives of many Americans. And when compared with other Western nations, religious attitudes in the U.S. are actually rather unique. After all, according to the Pew Research Center, Americans actively practice their faith to a greater extent than in other locales, including Canada, Australia and most of Europe.

Christianity In The U.S.

Religious pluralism in the United States has been practiced in one form or another for centuries, too. And although numerous churches and sects are located across the country, most Americans would describe themselves as Christians. According to research conducted by Gallup in 2016, nearly 75 percent of them subscribe to the faith. Judaism, meanwhile, is practiced by around 2 percent of the population, while Islam represents less than 1 percent. Conversely, nearly 20 percent of Americans do not follow a religion.

Varying Degrees Of Christianity

And religion has arguably been at the core of America since it was first colonized by the British. Of course, many of these settlers had actually arrived there hoping to freely practice their own strain of Christian belief. Virginia, for instance, was set up by English Anglicans, Maryland by Catholics and Pennsylvania by British Quakers.

Secretly Radical

So as we’ve seen, religion – and Christianity specifically – has traditionally seemed to have been at the heart of American life since the very beginning. And this makes Thomas Jefferson’s stance on the subject all the more surprising. After all, his thoughts on the Bible were downright radical for his time – and would likely have cast him into disgrace if they’d been widely known.