A Critical Examination of Deism I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. Thomas Paine, Age of Reason

Introduction

Note to the reader: I'm a life-long classical Deist my rejection of the Christian faith is based solely on the Bible itself, in particular the Apostle Paul, whom I believe was an imposter and usurper of the original Christian Church. I hold no bias against Christians or anyone else unless they drag their beliefs into politics and threaten individual liberty. In fact I encourage everyone to read the Bible with an open mind and make their own judgment. I'm equally convinced in God is real and is proven by science and in particular evolution. To quote Thomas Jefferson:

I think that every Christian sect gives a great handle to atheism by their general dogma, that without a revelation there would not be sufficient proof of the being of a God...on the contrary (without appeal to revelation) that when we take a view of the universe...it is impossible I say for the human mind not to believe...

Separation of Religion and State

The real argument over Deism involves modern politics and the intention of the Founders. On the one side Christian fundamentalists want the Founders identified with themselves to bolster their claim the Bible is the foundation of America. On the humanist/Marxist side it's simply an effort to continue to dismantle American culture and its foundation in order to substitute their own pseudo-religious beliefs. The atheistic French "Deists" despised all religion and so does their offspring the humanist' left. But was the views of Voltaire the same views of first six American presidents that held deistic views? Not at all.

There is no such term as separation of church and state in the Constitution or any other founding documents. The Bill of Rights refers to religion and not church, so Humanistic pseudo-religious belief systems such as Marxism, New Age environmentalism, etc. are clearly covered if it concerns the issue of the state interfering in the free exercise of religion. The closest we have on the subject was Jefferson's Wall of Separation so many like to quote out of context.

The Baptists in Danbury Connecticut feared persecution by Congregational Church if it became a national church. To quote the Danbury Baptists, That Religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals -- That no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious Opinions. That would upset some fundamentalists.

Jefferson responded, Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of the government reach actions only, and not opinions...the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State. By banning from public expression the beliefs of Christians and Jews, while pandering to every other belief systems including Islam in California public schools or environmental religion, is clearly a violation of the intention of the Constitution.

And to quote John Adams, Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. This is far more than paying homage to Voltaire's "clock maker" god. To quote the Jefferson Cyclopedia (#2147)

I hold (without appeal to revelation) that when we take a view of the universe, in all its parts, general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to perceive and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom of its composition...

...it is impossible I say, for the human mind not to believe that there is in all this design, cause and effect up to an ultimate cause, a fabricator of all things from matter and motion, their preserver and regulator while permitted to exist in their present forms, and their regeneration into new and other forms. We see, too evident proofs of the necessity of a superintending power to maintain the universe in its course and order...

See Blackstone's View of Natural Law

Getting a definition

Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, defines Deism as: "[From Latin Deus, God Deity] The doctrine or creed of a Deist." "One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being, but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason." Jefferson would have no problem with this. There is nothing new here in that by observing (not worshiping) Nature one could see God's handiwork. In fact the Bible says the same thing:

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and (his) divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened...They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator..." (Romans 1:18-32)

Note that Jefferson considered the Apostle Paul a usurper of Jesus' Church.

From John Punshon's Portrait in Grey:  A Short History of the Quakers. we have the Quaker view:

Deism, the "doctrine that God is quite other than the cosmos and entirely transcends it." Having created it as a closed system, he remains aloof from its operations and lets it go its own way" (160). This is God the creator, the "father." People who adhere to this theology tend to stress rational thought and science as a way of discovering truth; they tend to also place great emphasis on classic religious texts. Orthodox Quakerism is more sympathetic to Deism. For deists "the light was the inherent rational capacity of the mind." (161)

See Deism and Quakers Here we have another view that differs from Christianity in two respects; Christianity placed revelation over reason and God was never considered "aloof" from human affairs. Christianity had never abandoned reason and many of the great early men that laid the foundation for science were believing Christians. In fact Christianity is attacked for just that by radical environmentalists such as Lynn White. See Origins of modern environmental religion. But more important is from the Quaker view was never hostile to Christianity, but seemed happy to co-exist with it. This was clearly it seemed to be the God of the Bible, but far less controlling.

Fairly good definition, but not really detailed. From Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 213.  

"Deism. The Enlightenment endeavor to purify Christianity, to rid religion of all that was not rational, natural, and moral, and develop a natural religion. An international movement, Deism reflected local religious, philosophical, and social expressions of the Enlightenment. In England, it was critically concerned with the origins of religion, but positive in moral and religious affirmation; in France it was anti-Catholic, shading into skepticism, atheism, and materialism; in Germany it was championed alongside nationalist metaphysics and historical criticism; in America it embraced a revolutionary creed... Though indebted to various European cultural developments, Deism was particularly an early eighteenth century English affair. Important literary productions included John Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)... and Matthew Tindal's Christianity as Old as Creation (1730)."

In this definition there are several critical points we must consider and several fallacies. Here we have Deism as a "particularly an early eighteenth century English affair." Another important point is what has been collectively called "deism" varied from country to country and by culture. Let's consider the confusion surrounding the term The Enlightenment. As we note with France it veered into atheism and pantheism. Pantheism is a type of atheism that believes Nature is somehow one with God or God. I call it spiritual atheism. To quote Wikipedia:

The term "Enlightenment" came into use in English during the mid-nineteenth century with particular reference to French philosophy...The terminology Enlightenment or Age of Enlightenment does not represent a single movement or school of thought, for these philosophies were often mutually contradictory or divergent. The Enlightenment was less a set of ideas than it was a set of values. At its core was a critical questioning of traditional institutions, customs, and morals. Some classifications of this period also include the late seventeenth century, which is typically known as the Age of Reason or Age of Rationalism."

As is typical of academics and Wikipedia they simply can't produce a coherent definition of anything. In other words the term The Enlightenment along with deism is a dumping ground for a number of ill-defined ideas and philosophies they claim are based somehow on reason. Let's look around some more at definitions and narrow this down.

From Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); pg. 386.  

"Deists: Those who believe in God, or at least a divine principle, but follow few if any of the other tenets and practices of Christianity (compare with Theists, who believe in a personal God). Developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, Deism envisions a kind of clock-maker God who set the universe in motion but then let it run on its own, calling into question the Jewish and Christian notion of God's intervention in history. A number of prominent early Americans, including Ben Franklin, were Deists, along with French Enlightenment figures Voltaire and Rousseau. "

Now it has become again more muddled. As I will demonstrate Jefferson and Franklin did not believe in the same things as Voltaire and Rousseau. Voltaire/Rousseau are considered by many as the Fathers of the French Revolution, while Jefferson/Franklin were among the prominent Fathers of the American Revolution. But the French Revolution led to mass murder, the Reign of Terror, and laid the groundwork for modern dogmatic Humanism, Marxism, and Nazism. The American Revolution the exact opposite. If all were "deists" and believed the same thing as many try to imply, then just what is going on here?

Let's turn to a more reputable source with www.sparknotes.com and according to them The Enlightenment lasted from 1650-1800 A.D. They claim the first major Enlightenment figure in England was Thomas Hobbes and his book Leviathan in 1651. Some claim he was an atheist, others dispute that. John Locke stands as the main influence of the English Enlightenment or Age of Reason. Locke's A Letter on Toleration (1689) and The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695) would be a major influence on Thomas Jefferson. To quote Sparknotes,

Although Hobbes would be more influential among his contemporaries, it was clear that Locke's message was closer to the English people's hearts and minds. Just before the turn of the century, in 1688, English Protestants helped overthrow the Catholic king James II and installed the Protestant monarchs William and Mary. In the aftermath of this Glorious Revolution, the English government ratified a new Bill of Rights.

• Origins of English Rationalism.
• The Summons to Reason 1558-1649 by Will Durant
• Elizabeth and the Puritans by Will Durant
• Rule of Religion by Will Durant

Further proof that the Age of Reason should be separated from the later mostly French Enlightenment is the work of Will Dyrant. I base this on his 11 volume set The Story of Civilization. This is in eleven volumes: (1) Our Oriental Heritage; (2) The Life of Greece; (3) Caesar and Christ; (4) The Age of Faith; (5) The Renaissance; (6) The Reformation; (7) The Age of Reason Begins; (8) The Age of Louis XIV; (9) The Age of Voltaire; (10) Rousseau & Revolution; and (11) The Age of Napoleon. This is a must read for those serious about history for the average person. They are free of politics and religious hostility from a secular scholar.

For the most part Durant is vague on Deism itself and the role it played, but Sparknotes clinches it:

Many of the major French Enlightenment thinkers, or philosophes, were born in the years after the Glorious Revolution, so France's Enlightenment came a bit later, in the mid-1700s...The philosophes, though varying in style and area of particular concern, generally emphasized the power of reason and sought to discover the natural laws governing human society...

In reaction to the rather empirical philosophies of Voltaire and others, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote The Social Contract (1762), a work championing a form of government based on small, direct democracy that directly reflects the will of the population...Another undercurrent that threatened the prevailing principles of the Enlightenment was skepticism. Skeptics questioned whether human society could really be perfected through the use of reason and denied the ability of rational thought to reveal universal truths. Their philosophies revolved around the idea that the perceived world is relative to the beholder and, as such, no one can be sure whether any truths actually exist...

Ultimately, the Enlightenment fell victim to competing ideas from several sources. Romanticism was more appealing to less-educated common folk and pulled them away from the empirical, scientific ideas of earlier Enlightenment philosophers. Similarly, the theories of skepticism came into direct conflict with the reason-based assertions of the Enlightenment and gained a following of their own. What ultimately and abruptly killed the Enlightenment, however, was the French Revolution...

And what came out of the French Revolution? To quote Sparknotes:

Deism: A system of faith to which many of the French philosophes and other Enlightenment thinkers subscribed. Deists believed in an all-powerful God but viewed him as a "cosmic watchmaker" who created the universe and set it in autonomous motion and then never again tampered with it. Deists also shunned organized religion, especially Church doctrines about eternal damnation and a "natural" hierarchy of existence.

Thus the deism so preferred by dogmatic Humanists and most "deists" today is the one from the French Revolution which was an atheist' revolution. Central to this was Voltaire and others that hijacked English Deism which was still clearly theistic. This is classical Deism defined by Lord Herbert of Cherbury (d. 1648) was one of the earliest proponents of Deism in England. In his book "De Veritate," (1624), he described the "Five Articles" of English Deists:

1. belief in the existence of a single supreme God
2. humanity's duty to revere God
3. linkage of worship with practical morality
4. God will forgive us if we repent and abandon our sins
5. good works will be rewarded (and punishment for evil) both in life and after death.

This is broadly the beliefs of Jefferson and Franklin as well. As Ben Franklin noted in a letter to Ezra Stiles in 1790 what Deism is all about, and speaks for this writer as well:

Here is my creed. I believe in One God, the Creator of the Universe. That he governs it by his Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable Service we can render Him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental principles of all sound religion.

(Salisbury, Dorothy Cleaveland. "Religion: As the Leaders of this Nation Reveal It." Daughters of the American Revolution Vol.106 (1972): page 541.)

See the following in three parts:

• French Deism: deistic Humanism, Pantheism
• The English Deists
• Is it Unitarianism or Deism?

As further evidence, to quote the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

English Deism entered France, where, however, only its materialistic and revolutionary phases were seized upon, to the exclusion of that religiosity which had never been lost in England. French Deism stood outside of theology...Their moral theories...lost all connection with the position of Deism, which became for them a mere armory of weapons for the destruction of all religion with its consequences, intolerance and moral corruption...The "Enlightenment" was mainly a French affair...

Influences:
• Left vs Right, Montesquieu, Corporatism
• John Locke on Reason and Faith
• Information on John Locke
• At the Origins of English Rationalism
• Doctrines of Heathen Philosophy, Joseph Priestly
• Democracy and the Origins of the US Constitution

To quote the New World Encyclopedia:

Deism has come to denote the theological belief that God created the universe according to scientific laws, but does not interfere in its daily operation. Voltaire first articulated this argument in his Traité de Métaphysique (1734). God is like a watchmaker who designed the universe and set it in motion. He does not interfere with its operation (especially through historical figures like Jesus or churches), yet his presence is still visible in the grain of all creation.

Most Anglo-American Deists did not have such a minimalistic view of God's activity in the world; thus Lord Herbert of Cherbury, considered to be the father of English Deism, took as one of his five "innate principles" compatible with reason that there are rewards and punishments after death, and in general the American Deists believed in a general concept of divine providence. Nevertheless, by not allowing special revelation, these Deists were left with a weak theological foundation that could not clearly explain God's activity in the world. Hence, today it is Voltaire's more extreme view that defines the Deist position philosophically...

Since America was founded when Deism was popular, it is not surprising that numerous founding fathers of the nation such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington identified with some of its ideas. In fact, the first six presidents of the United States, as well as four later ones, had deistic beliefs.

The unmoved mover is a philosophical concept described by Aristotle as the first cause that sets the universe into motion. As is implicit in the name, the "unmoved mover" is not moved by any prior action. In his book Metaphysics, Aristotle describes the unmoved mover as being perfectly beautiful, indivisible, and contemplating only the perfect contemplation: itself contemplating. The Unmoved Mover is also referred to as the Prime Mover or the Prima Mobilé.

God and reason:
• What is Natural Theology?
• Isaac Newton and Arianism
• Isaac Newton's God

Cult of Reason

For more on this see Cult of Reason and Robespierre

• Founding Fathers Religion Debate and Poll
• The Founding Fathers Speak Out on God, Religion
• On Thomas Jefferson and Religion
• Deism in America
• Deism fastest growing religion growing 717%
• Jefferson on the Morals of Jesus and Deism

• Was Thomas Jefferson a Deist?
• Thomas Jefferson: Deist or Christian? Debunking Dr James Kennedy
• The Founding Fathers Were Not Christians or Secular Humanists
• Deism in America
• Jefferson on the Morals of Jesus and Deism

• Deism versus Christianity
• Original Sin a definition
• Pelagius and why he was right

Thomas Paine

The man best known that defines traditional Deism the best is Thomas Paine. Most focus on his attacks on Christianity, but not what he believed. Quoting Paine,

"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life."

"The moral duty of man consists in imitating the moral goodness and beneficence of God manifested in the creation toward all his creatures. That seeing, as we daily do, the goodness of God to all men, it is an example calling upon all men to practice the same toward each other."

"I trouble not myself about the manner of future existence. I content myself with believing, even to positive conviction, that the power that gave me existence is able to continue it in any form and manner he pleases, either with or without this body" (Age of Reason).

"I consider myself in the hands of my Creator, and that he will dispose of me after this life consistently with his justice and goodness" (Private Thoughts on a Future State)

"We believe in the existence of a God, and in the immortality of the soul."

"Were man impressed as fully and as strongly as he ought to be with the belief of a God, his moral life would be regulated by the force of that belief; he would stand in awe of God and of himself, and would not do the thing that could not be concealed from either. ... This is Deism."

• About Thomas Paine
• Thomas Paine on Deism
• Thomas Paine Age Of Reason: Editor's Introduction
• Age of Reason Part I
• Age of Reason Part II
• Letters Concerning the "Age of Reason"
• Thomas Paine, Apostle of Freedom

As the fourth century "Church Father" Jerome wrote: "The Jews insist upon a literal interpretation of the Scriptures based on thirteen rules, but we know that the spiritual interpretation is far superior." To quote Thomas Paine,

Each of those churches shows certain books, which they call revelation, or the Word of God. The Jews say that their Word of God was given by God to Moses face to face; the Christians say, that their Word of God came by divine inspiration; and the Turks say, that their Word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from heaven. Each of those churches accuses the other of unbelief; and, for my own part, I disbelieve them all.

Failure of Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine's Age of Reason was an attempt to save Deism from the onslaught of atheism and extremism in France. It failed in several respects:

1. It alienated Paine from many people such as George Washington and John Adams by his open attacks on Christianity.
2. In America and England, Deism was closely intertwined with Unitarianism and operated within the fringes of liberal Christianity. The Age of Reason and the reaction to it served to sever it totally from Christianity, just as Paul severed Christianity from Judaism.
3. The Age of Reason for many merely became a weapon for undermining Christianity, not promoting Deism. Paine so buried his religious beliefs in anti-Christian rhetoric it's easy to define him as an atheist, something he clearly wasn't.
4. This led to new a counter-offensive by Christianity called the 2nd Awakening.
5. His view of God is so poorly defined that some such as political science professor Fruchtman (Towson State Univ., Md.) "argues that Paine was a pantheist who saw God's handiwork in all nature and in humanity's struggles to improve the common good." See Thomas Paine, Apostle of Freedom.

Reaction to Thomas Paine and His Age of Reason

I have read your manuscript with some attention. By the argument it contains against a particular Providence, though you allow a general Providence, you strike at the foundations of all religion. For without the belief of a Providence that takes cognizance of, guards, and guides, and may favor particular persons, there is no motive to worship a Deity, to fear his displeasure, or to pray for his protection. I will not enter into any discussion of your principles, though you seem to desire it. At present I shall only give you my opinion that . . . the consequence of printing this piece will be a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself, mischief to you, and no benefit to others.

He that spits into the wind, spits in his own face. But were you to succeed, do you imagine any good would be done by it? . . . [T]hink how great a portion of mankind consists of weak and ignorant men and women and of inexperienced, inconsiderate youth of both sexes who have need of the motives of religion to restrain them from vice, to support their virtue . . . . I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining the tiger, but to burn this piece before it is seen by any other person . . . . If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it? I intend this letter itself as proof of my friendship.

[W]hen I heard you had turned your mind to a defence of infidelity, I felt myself much astonished and more grieved that you had attempted a measure so injurious to the feelings and so repugnant to the true interest of so great a part of the citizens of the United States. The people of New England, if you will allow me to use a Scripture phrase, are fast returning to their first love. Will you excite among them the spirit of angry controversy at a time when they are hastening to amity and peace? I am told that some of our newspapers have announced your intention to publish an additional pamphlet upon the principles of your Age of Reason. Do you think your pen, or the pen of any other man, can unchristianize the mass of our citizens, or have you hopes of converting a few of them to assist you in so bad a cause?

The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue equity and humanity, let the Blackguard (scoundrel) Paine say what he will.

Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God.... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be."

The general principles, on which the Fathers achieved independence, were the only Principles in which that beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen could Unite....And what were these general Principles? I answer, the general Principles of Christianity, in which all these Sects were United...Now I will avow, that I then believe, and now believe, that those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and immutable, as the Existence and Attributes of God; and that those Principles of Liberty, are as unalterable as human Nature and our terrestrial, mundane System.

"How is it possible [that he] should represent the Hebrews in such a contemptible light? They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earth. The Romans and their Empire were but a Bauble in comparison of the Jews. They have given religion to three quarters of the Globe and have influenced the affairs of Mankind more, and more happily, than any other Nation ancient or modern."

• Because the Unitarians reject all human creeds and articles of faith, and strictly adhere to the great Protestant principle, "the Bible -- the Bible only;" admitting no standard of Christian truth, nor any rule of Christian practice, but the words of the Lord Jesus and his Apostles. . . .
• Because at the Unitarian Church I hear Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, preached as the Christ, the son of the living God. . . .
• Because Unitarians teach the doctrine of "the true grace of God." -- His unmerited, unpurchased favor to mankind, -- that salvation and eternal life are his free gifts through Jesus Christ; which is clearly the doctrine of Scripture . . . .
• Because there the crucified Jesus is exalted, as having attained his high dignity and glory, and His appointment to be the Saviour and Judge of the world. . . .
• Because there the necessity of personal righteousness is insisted on, and the spirit of Christ and conformity to His example, made essential to genuine Christianity.

...into a Transcendentalist version of the ethical theism of Plato, the Stoics, and Kant, coordinated with the nascent evolutionist science of the day and the newly explored mysticism of the ancient East. This new religious philosophy, as construed and applied by the Boston preacher Theodore Parker and other disciples of Emerson, included the other great ethnic faiths with Christianity in a universal religion of Humanity and through its intellectual hospitality operated to open Unitarian fellowship to evolutionists, monists, pragmatists and humanists.

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For the record...

To quote Leonard Peikoff, Religion versus. America, The Voice of Reason

"Point for point, the Founding Fathers' argument for liberty was the exact counterpart of the Puritans' argument for dictatorship, but in reverse, moving from the opposite starting point to the opposite conclusion. Man, the Founding Fathers said in essence (with a large assist from Locke and others), is the rational being; no authority, human or otherwise, can demand blind obedience from such a being; not in the realm of thought or, therefore, in the realm of action, either. By his very nature, they said, man must be left free to exercise his reason and then to act accordingly, i.e., by the guidance of his best rational judgment...And because man is basically good, they held, there is no need to leash him; there is nothing to fear in setting free a rational animal. This, in substance, was the American argument for man's inalienable rights. It was the argument that reason demands freedom."

The only problem with this is the French Revolution was based on reason alone led to only bloodshed and tyranny. Reason without an underpinning of God or a higher power leads only to ruin. To quote Noah Nissani:

Rationalism (is) an exaggerated faith in human logic...Unlike the Jacobean rationalism, represented by Voltaire, the chief Girondin ideologue Montesquieu, followed Aristotle's empirical method. He added to the research of around 150 regimes, which served as the basis for Aristotle's "Politics", another twenty years of study, with a team of assistants, for writing his book "The Spirit of the Laws" (1748). Together with the Bible and the Greek philosophers, this book guided the founding fathers of the American Revolution in shaping the principles and institutions of the United States...

Another source for study

The primary influences of the US Constitution were John Locke, Montesquieu, the Bible, Greek philosophy, and the Freemasons. Another excellent reference for Deism is The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L. Holmes. (Buy it here.) To quote one book review:

Why is this book important to read? Simple, there are extremists on the right and left that have utilized historic revisionism to push their political agendas and they do this by twisting the founder's beliefs into something that will backup their political claims. This has lead to a general confusion in regards to what the founders actually believed.

The secondary importance of this book lies in its focus on the Enlightenment religion of Deism. In truth, there are very few books regarding the richness and diversity of Deism in early America and the important role that it played in founding the USA. Most books use a few sentences to state that Deism was a belief in a God that created and then abandoned the universe. This "definition" was the creation of preachers during the Second Great Awakening to damage the theology of Deism that had become popular among the educated.

Holmes devotes more than just a few sentences to the subject of Deism. He devotes 3 chapters to the subject and goes into detail how diverse Deism was among its adherents and that it had its own sects just as Christianity did and does. Despite what many believe, Deism was (and is) a faith that is rich with diversity and is not the "God who abandoned" religion that has been put forth for far too many years. He breaks down the belief of the founders into three categories which are Non-Christian Deism, Christian Deism and Orthodox Christianity...

An important fact to consider is Deism is a private belief system, not a "church" with a dogma. As Holmes points out, the Founders didn't push their beliefs even on their own families. Many of their wives (the exception of Mrs. Adams) and children were pious Christians. Holmes also doesn't push a political agenda.

An interesting e-book on Rousseau entitled Rousseau and the Real Culture War by David Heleniak can be downloaded for free at http://www.lulu.com/content/844957. To quote, "In his examination of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Second Discourse, David Heleniak contends that libertarians are the heirs of the Greco-Roman pagans and the "modern pagans" of the Enlightenment, conservatives are the end product of the Christian doctrine of original sin, and the American Left is the consequence of the doctrine as transformed by Rousseau." I've read this and highly recommend it.

Misc.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (no friend of Deism): " Thus there have been French and German deists as well as English; while Pagan, Jewish, or Moslem deists might be found as well as Christian." Many people tend to be Deists or have deistic thinking, but really don't know it or what to call it. They go on to say in regards to Deists in general and this still applies today,

Because of the individualistic standpoint of independent criticism, which they adopt, it is difficult, if not impossible, to class together the representative writers who contributed to the literature of English deism as forming any one definite school, or to group together the positive teachings contained in their writings as any one systematic expression of a concordant philosophy. The deists were what nowadays would be called freethinkers, a name, indeed, by which they were not infrequently known; and they can only be classed together wholly in the main attitude that they adopted, viz. in agreeing to cast off the trammels of authoritative religious teaching...

Deists do not accept the authority of so-called "religious leaders" or their man-made holy books. Because we tend to be individuals, it's unlikely one will ever see deist' churches. I don't believe such an institution is even possible, while perhaps non-formal fellowships would work well.

"Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is a monotheism can believe anything." -- Robert A. Heinlein

I believe in one God, and no more... This is known as monotheism, a belief in one supreme God. This includes not only Deists but Unitarians and Jews. It once may have included most early Christians (Arians), but not modern Christians that follow the Nicene Creed and the Trinity. Regardless of their claims, Christians who follow the Nicene Creed (based on Greek Neoplatonism) engage in idolatry or idol worship. Also note that St. Augustine, the father of Western Christianity, was an avid Neoplatonist. See More on Augustine. Thomas Jefferson referred to this all of this nonsense as "Platonic mysticism." The belief in one unified God is the core belief of Deism. Sorry, no intermediary deities allowed.

See Humanism Rejected by Christians

Deism works best as a philosophy that moderates and influences other faiths. It has forced revealed religion to take a close look at itself and has forced change from the inside, not by the use of force from outside which has failed. By forcing people to look closely at church dogma and mysticism, the use of reason as a tool caused profound changes in Christianity.

In conclusion the idea of churches and organized religion in general runs against the very idea of free-thinking and Deism. Except for a belief in a transcendent God and the application of reason, there is no other "creed" or "dogma" in Deism and the individual is free to believe what their mind dictates. This is great weakness in Deism as anyone can add in anything they want and call it deism.

Romans 1:20, "For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse."

While Deist' ideas go back to ancient Greece, classical Deism (and Unitarians as well) may have begun with Faustus Socinus and his followers (16th century Unitarians) who held that:

• 1) All religious authority depends on applying reason to Scripture
• 2) The doctrine of the Trinity is false because there is no Scriptural evidence for it
• 3) The ethical teachings of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mount, are the main guide, not the words of Paul
• 4) Jesus was human, though an exceptional human; though not God, he was endowed with divine attributes of wisdom and virtue. See Acts 2:22
• 5) The resurrection was significant because it demonstrated the possibility of immortality
• 6) Jesus' death was not an atonement for our sins nor did God demand that someone suffer for our sins.
• 7) The following doctrines are false: original sin, predestination of the elect, the inherent depravity of human beings, and eternal damnation. See Calvinism
• 8) We can have faith in the good and loving nature of God
• 9) Though well aware of how sinful human beings can be and often are, we can have faith in the human capacity for reason and goodness.
• 10) Religious thought should be free, and all creeds should be tolerated.

There was a strong social justice commitment among the Socinians. They spoke out against the enserfment of the peasantry and were among the first Christians (with the Anabaptist) to advocate separation of Church and state. Their defense of religious toleration and freedom of religious thought probably influenced the great British political philosopher John Locke. Locke's library included many Socinian works and his posthumously published work, The Reasonableness of Christianity, was close to the Socinian position in its emphasis on Jesus as an ethical teacher. However, Locke was probably an Arian rather than a Socinian Christian in the sense that he held Jesus to be a supernatural being dependent on but less exalted than God.

• Unitarianism and Deism
• Why UU Humanism Requires Rejecting Our Humanity
• Unitarianism, misc. information
• Unitarianism Spreads in the Church of England

Today one can read the words of John Locke in the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Yet every word above was based on the Bible and reason. Once these ideas were filtered through the The Enlightenment, we get Deism. As a Deist I reject the resurrection claims, but the rest is reasonable.

• John Locke on reason and faith.

Some who were influenced by the Socinians was John Locke.

Voltaire
• The French Deists: Voltaire
• Voltaire a History
• Deism Depicted (Voltaire) by Tracy Van Pelt
• The Religion of Voltaire: He was an atheist, anti-Semite, hated Islam
• John Adams Denounces Voltaire's anti-Semitism
• Voltaire's Deism
• The French Deists: The Encyclopedists
• Left vs Right, Montesquieu, Corporatism
• French Enlightenment overrated, historian says
• The Age of the Enlightenment
• The Enlightenment
• Quick Overview of the Enlightenment
• Enlightenment thought of 18th-century Europe and America.
• Socinianism - A forerunner to Modern Pantheism
• Panentheism versus Pantheism

Rousseau

• The French Deists: J. J. Rousseau
• Romanticism, Rousseau, and Primitivism
• Rousseau: An Interesting Madman
• Rousseau and the Revolt Against Reason

Again, quoting from Richard Hooker,

The philosophies of mid-eighteenth century France developed this mechanistic view of the universe into a radically revised version of Christianity they called deism . Drawing on Newton's description of the universe as a great clock built by the Creator and then set in motion, the deists among the philosophes argued that everything-physical motion, human physiology, politics, society, economics-had its own set of rational principles established by God which could be understood by human beings solely by means of their reason. This meant that the workings of the human and physical worlds could be understood without having to bring religion, mysticism, or divinity into the explanation.

• Voltaire a History
• Romanticism, Rousseau, and Primitivism
• French Deism
• The Enlightenment
• More on the Enlightenment
• Deism Depicted (Voltaire) by Tracy Van Pelt

Also beginning in the 19th century (1840s) under Ralph Waldo Emerson reason and God alike would come under attack when transcendentalism and other Eastern religious ideas invaded Unitarian Churches and pantheism/atheism invaded Deism. After joining with the Universalists in the 1960s the Unitarian Universalists have become a social club with no real direction other than political correctness. See Unitarian Controversy for more on this.

Jefferson
• Democracy and the Origins of the US Constitution
• The Founding Fathers Were NOT Christians or Secular Humanists: a Refutation of Steven Morris
• Thomas Jefferson and Peter Carr
• The Jefferson Bible
• Thomas Jefferson's Wall of Separation
• Thomas Jefferson's Letters on Liberty and Religion
• Humanism and Reason Rejected
• What is Humanism? Atheist
• Why UU Humanism Requires Rejecting Our Humanity

• The Devil Didn't Make You Do it
• Devil, Demons and Hell
• Gnosticism and Dualism
• Zoroastrianism

Deists, Freemasons, and Jews

In response to a reader request I looked into Deism and Freemasonry. Like all things influenced by the European Enlightenment they share many common values. America's most famous Freemason is also a Deist, George Washington. Not only did he allow Universalists to serve in his army, he had Jewish and Deists officers as well along with Enlightened Christians. In the Freemason lodges Protestants, Jews, Deists, Unitarians, and all who believed in God, liberty, etc. put aside their theological differences and joined together. Because of the influence of the European Enlightenment and their Jewish/Christian traditions, these groups had many things in common. Half the signers of the Constitution were Freemasons as was Francis Scott Key who wrote our National Anthem and Frances Bellamy who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. Not all Deists are Freemasons with Thomas Jefferson as one example. The claim that Freemasons are all Jews is also false.

Freemasons
• Why Do Some People Hate Freemasonry?
• What is the connection between Judaism and Freemasonry?

Quoting one extreme right-wing bigot, "In fact, the basic tenet of Freemasonry is anti-Christian, promoting "freedom of individuals, tolerance and generosity toward all people, and equality of people of all races, religions, and beliefs...a cursory glance at Masonic literature shows that this is always stated as one of their basic beliefs." He goes on to attack Jews, Deists, non-whites, etc. Those that tend to attack these very basic ideas have included the Nazis, communists, the extreme right and left, religious fundamentalists, and even the Catholic Church. Nazi Germany for example killed not just Jews, but Freemasons, Gypsies, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Deism shares with Judaism a rejection of the Trinity and Original Sin. Deism through Reform Judaism and the influence of Moses Mendelssohn and the German Enlightenment, has influenced modern Judaism. Orthodox Rabbis in particular revile Deism. Again it must be noted that Deism was influenced by the culture it evolve in. So the German version more effected Judaism that the American version.

• Judaism and Deism
• Moses Mendelssohn Jewish Deist

Deism and Islam

Deism versus Islam. While Deists believe in only one God or Creator we reject holy books such as the Koran. Several visitors to this site gotten the idea Thomas Paine (see above) was quoting the Koran. Deism accepts religious freedom and choice, Islam does not. This is why they continue to lag far behind the West in everything. Deism rejects man-made religious books such as the Koran, Bible, etc. Deism and Deists reject the self-proclaimed authority of mullahs, preachers, and rabbis because we are our own authority. The problem isn't religion as much as culture.

Can Islam be compatible with Deism? I don't think so unless Islam can be reinterpreted or large sections of it excluded. In other words, Islam needs more a focus on God/Allah and not so much on Mohammed and also carries a lot of cultural baggage. An Islamic society does not allow the individual to even interpret the Koran to begin with. Muslim culture is so dogmatic and inflexible, it leaves little room for any new idea. While it is true that in the Middle Ages some Muslims could qualify as deists, Deism is a product of Western culture. But there is hope. Turkey is the only democracy in the Muslim world and its founder, Kamal Ataturk seemed to follow deist' philosophy and based his nation's government on that of America and France. In Iran we also have the student democracy movement giving the Mullahs all kinds of problems.

Islam to Deism

• Islam Versus Deism
• Eastern Roman Empire and Islam
• Philosophies of Islam, Greece, and the West by Turgut Özal
• Example of Islam and science. Islam shines eight centuries before Darwin.
• Islam Versus Judaism and Christianity: some observations
• Islam to Deism: Why I became a Deist

On Religion in general

Specific Religious Issues

Deism	Christianity	Judaism	Islam	Gnosticism	Unitarianism
Zoroastrianism	Pantheism	Fundamentalism	Evolution	Original Sin	Trinity
End Times	Apostle Paul	Apostle John	John Calvin	St. Augustine	Pelagius
Martin Luther	Jesus	Militia	Paganism	New Age	Pat Robertson

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