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Deism

Deism is a school of thought that holds as its main belief the idea that God is not made known to man via revelation or divine inspiration, but rather through the employment of intellect and reason alone. As such, Deists support the idea that the decisions man makes should not be reached through organized religion or traditional teachings. It is a highly secularized way of thinking, one that was extremely popular during the Age of the Enlightenment, when it was advocated by celebrated scholars and writers such as Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and others who touted the popular notions of skepticism, rationalism and the scientific revolution. In fact, many of the founding fathers of the United States of America considered themselves to be Deists.

There are many varying aspects to Deism – for example, the theological, the scientific and the materialistic – and these are embraced to varying degrees by its practitioners. With regards to the theological, the Deists believe in the existence of God. They do not, however, believe that God plays an active role in the world he has created. Some thought this to be the case because he was in everything (nature) without a separate identity, while others because he created the world as it should be and therefore needed not interfere further (i.e. the clockmaker who winds up his clock and leaves it alone to run mechanically). Deism has lost popularity in today’s world, being overshadowed by organized beliefs such as Christianity or Islam or with outright atheism. However, it turns out that one well known intellectual atheist from the 20th century, Antony Flew, has recently abandoned his atheism in favor of something like Deism because of the design present in biological systems.

Web Resources On Deism

IEP: Deism
Wikipedia: Deism

Book Resources On Deism

Age of Reason: The Classic of American Deism by Thomas Paine
Oracles of Reason by Charles Blount

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