Deism
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| :''[[atheism]]'' | :''[[atheism]]'' | ||
| - | The [[Renaissance]] and [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] eras witnessed a resurgence in religious fervor, as evidenced by the proliferation of new religious orders, confraternities, and popular devotions in the Catholic world, and the appearance of increasingly austere Protestant sects such as the [[Calvinists]]. This era of interconfessional rivalry permitted an even wider scope of theological and philosophical speculation, much of which would later be used to advance a religiously skeptical world-view. | + | '''Deism''' in the [[philosophy of religion]] is the standpoint that [[reason]] and observation of the [[Nature|natural world]], without the need for organized religion, can determine that the [[universe]] is a creation and has a creator. Furthermore, the term often implies that this supreme being does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the natural laws of the universe. [[List of deists|Deists]] typically reject supernatural events such as [[prophecy]] and [[miracles]], tending to assert that a god (or "[[Great Architect of the Universe|the Supreme Architect]]") does not alter the universe by (regularly or ever) intervening in the affairs of human life. This idea is also known as the [[Clockwork universe theory]], in which a god designs and builds the universe, but steps aside to let it run on its own. Deists believe in the existence of a god without any reliance on revealed religion, religious authority or [[holy books]]. Two main forms of deism currently exist: classical deism and modern deism. |
| - | + | ==See also== | |
| - | [[Criticism of Christianity]] became increasingly frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and England, where there appears to have been a religious [[malaise]], according to contemporary sources. Some Protestant thinkers, such as [[Thomas Hobbes]], espoused a materialist philosophy and skepticism toward supernatural occurrences, while the Jewish-Dutch philosopher [[Baruch Spinoza]] rejected [[divine providence]] in favour of a pantheistic naturalism. By the late 17th century, [[Deism]] came to be openly espoused by intellectuals such as [[John Toland (Irish Philosopher)|John Toland]]. Despite their ridicule of Christianity, many Deists held atheism in scorn. The first known atheist who threw off the mantle of deism, bluntly denying the existence of gods, was [[Jean Meslier]], a French priest who lived in the early 18th century. | + | * [[American Enlightenment]] |
| - | + | * [[Christian deism]] | |
| - | He was followed by other openly atheistic thinkers, such as [[Baron d'Holbach]] and [[Jacques-André Naigeon]]. | + | * [[Ceremonial deism]] |
| - | + | * [[Ietsism]] | |
| - | The philosopher [[David Hume]] developed a skeptical epistemology grounded in empiricism, undermining the metaphysical basis of natural theology. | + | * [[Infinitism]] |
| - | + | * [[List of deists]] | |
| - | The [[French Revolution]] took atheism outside the salons and into the public sphere. Attempts to enforce the [[Civil Constitution of the Clergy]] led to anti-clerical violence and the expulsion of many clergy from France. The chaotic political events in revolutionary Paris eventually enabled the more radical [[Jacobin Club|Jacobins]] to seize power in 1793, ushering in the [[Reign of Terror]]. At its climax, the more militant atheists attempted to forcibly de-Christianize France, replacing religion with a [[Cult of Reason]]. These persecutions ended with the [[Thermidorian Reaction]], but some of the secularizing measures of this period remained a permanent legacy of French politics. | + | * [[Religious affiliations of Presidents of the United States]] |
| - | + | ** [[George Washington and religion]] | |
| - | The [[Napoleonic era]] institutionalized the secularization of French society, and exported the revolution to northern Italy, in the hopes of creating pliable republics. In the 19th century, many atheists and other anti-religious thinkers devoted their efforts to political and social revolution, facilitating the [[Revolutions of 1848|upheavals of 1848]], the [[Italian unification|Risorgimento]] in Italy, and the growth of an international [[socialism|socialist]] movement. | + | * [[Theistic evolution]] |
| - | + | * [[Transcendentalism]] | |
| - | In the latter half of the 19th century, atheism rose to prominence under the influence of [[rationalism|rationalistic]] and [[freethought|freethinking]] philosophers. Many prominent German philosophers of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including [[Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach|Ludwig Feuerbach]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], [[Karl Marx]], and [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]. | + | * [[Unitarian Universalism]] |
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Deism in the philosophy of religion is the standpoint that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is a creation and has a creator. Furthermore, the term often implies that this supreme being does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the natural laws of the universe. Deists typically reject supernatural events such as prophecy and miracles, tending to assert that a god (or "the Supreme Architect") does not alter the universe by (regularly or ever) intervening in the affairs of human life. This idea is also known as the Clockwork universe theory, in which a god designs and builds the universe, but steps aside to let it run on its own. Deists believe in the existence of a god without any reliance on revealed religion, religious authority or holy books. Two main forms of deism currently exist: classical deism and modern deism.
See also
- American Enlightenment
- Christian deism
- Ceremonial deism
- Ietsism
- Infinitism
- List of deists
- Religious affiliations of Presidents of the United States
- Theistic evolution
- Transcendentalism
- Unitarian Universalism
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