Mark A. Beliles, historian and teacher of American religious culture, founded the Providence Foundation in 1983 through which he has organized several symposiums on Jefferson and religion held at the University of Virginia. He is coauthor of Doubting Thomas? (Morgan James Faith, 2014) and the editor of The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson (America Publications, 2013). He earned his PhD from Whitefield Theological Seminary with his dissertation entitled Churches and Politics in Jefferson's Virginia (America Publications, 2000). Other books coauthored by Beliles for popular audiences include America's Providential History and Contending for the Constitution.

Beliles, an ordained minister, has served as a senior pastor for 36 years and has spoken in over 60 countries and many cities across America. He resides in Jefferson's hometown, where he served for many years as chairman of the Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee and cochairman of the city's 250th anniversary in 2012.