So What Were Thomas Jefferson And Benjamin Franklin's Theological Beliefs?

The reason why I ask, is because I am confused by the inscription on Benjamin Franklin's tombstone:

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost; For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author.
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He died in 1790 in Philadelphia and is still buried there in Christ Church Burial Ground. Now, by 1790 he was a definitely a deist. He identified as a "thorough deist" in his 1771 autobiography, meaning he believed in a God who created the universe but doesn't intervene in human affairs. Deists reject providence (i.e., prayer), revelation and an afterlife. So why did he think he was going to be corrected and amended by his author, in other words resurrected?

Thomas Jefferson has me confused too. Thomas Jefferson was a little more vague on his religious views. But most people agree he was a deist. He respected the moral teachings of Jesus (especially as found in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount), but he did not believe in the divinity of Jesus or any of the supernatural events described in the Bible. When asked his personal beliefs, he sometimes referred to himself as "a sect by myself". But he did regularly attended church services in the House of Representatives building as president.

So sometimes these two men seemed to do things that conflicted with their personal views. Or, to be blunt, were they just trying to fit in? (Washington BTW was also probably a deist. Well, they didn't give you a membership card when you became a deist. It was a personal, and scientific, belief. But we do know Washington was a Freemason.)

 

I'm a Deist, specifically a Panendeist (combination of pantheism and deism) and a Christian. The Christian part gets me to the Methodist church every Sunday, where I take fellowship with folks who share enough of my beliefs and values that I feel at home.

 

In France, Ben Franklin invited Voltarie to visit The Freemasons lodge.

 

"The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man. I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others. I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."

-deist Thomas Jefferson.
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And BTW just to repeat, deists were definitely NOT Christians. They were also against revelation (i.e., the Bible) and providence (i.e., prayer).