Deists - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about Deists Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,507,718,215 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

deism
(redirected from Deists)

    Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.

deism

Belief in a supreme being. The term usually refers to a movement in the 17th and 18th centuries characterized by the belief in a rational ‘religion of nature’ as opposed to the orthodox beliefs of Christianity. Deists believed that God is the source of natural law but does not intervene directly in the affairs of the world, and that the only religious duty of humanity is to be virtuous.

Deism emerged in England in the writings of Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1583–1648). John Toland (1670–1722) and Matthew Tindal (1657–1733) were among its major exponents. In France, the writer Voltaire was the most prominent advocate of deism. In the US, many of the founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, were essentially deists. See also theism.

Deists believed in the light of nature and reason as a sufficient guide in doctrine and practice. This had much in common with later German rationalism.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
?Sign in SSL protected
Email:
Password:
Register

? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
According to Holmes, America's founding fathers were largely creatures of the Enlightenment, Deists who believed the Creator had endowed all people with a freedom of conscience and religion on which no government should trample, and who had good reason to fear an intolerant religion at the helm of the ship of state.
Separation anxiety: how intertwined should religion and politics be ... by McCormick, Patrick / U.S. Catholic
But as Barry Alan Shain has so brilliantly shown, to focus the study of the American founding on a coterie of intellectuals who were at best deists ignores the beliefs and values of the ordinary Americans who actually fought the Revolution and ratified the founding documents.
The secret of Straussianism by Sherlock, Richard / Modern Age
New Light evangelicals such as Isaac Bachus and John Leland joined forces with Deists and skeptics such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson to fight for a complete separation of church and state.
The framers and the faithful: how modern evangelicals are ignoring ... by Waldman, Steven / Washington Monthly
More results
 
Hutchinson browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Hutchinson Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.