Deism
Deism (from Latin: deus = God) primarily refers to the theological belief that God created the universe but does not interfere in its daily operation, and secondarily denotes an 18th century historical movement in modern Christianity which taught that reason, rather than revelation should form the basis of religion. Deists see God as the creator of the universe and the first-cause who can be known through reason and natural law. However, they believe that once creation ended, God's active involvement in the universe also ended. In this manner, God is seen as analogous to a distant Landlord who does not visit his tenets but whose presence is still visible in the grain of all creation. While deism elevates the role of reason as a tool for understanding God, it does so at the expense of providential theology. Deism has been criticized for rejecting God's active involvement in the cosmos, for dismissing the role of miracles that cannot be explained by reason, and for downplaying emotion as a stimulant for faith.
Deism as Philosophy
Deism offers a philosophical perspective concerning the nature of God and the cosmos. It posits the belief in a creator God, the First Cause who brought the universe into existence. According to the argument from design, God is like the watchmaker (or the Primordial Architect, in Sir Isaac Newton's terms) and much as the watchmaker fashions the parts and functions of the watch, God similarly put into place the machinations of the universe, and provides the energy which sets the universe in motion. However, while deists claim that God is the source of all motion and matter, they also believe that God's intercession into his creation only occurs occasionally, if at all.
The watchmaker hypothesis is not specifically incompatible with the scientific theory of evolution (for example, evolution through natural selection might be a process designed by God in order to carry through the unfolding of creation), although it is not compatible with the dogmatic idea held by some evolutionists who argue the universe was self-created randomly out of chaos. Those deists that hold God directly intervenes occasionally to repair or improve the "watch," for example by creating a new species, would not be compatible with the theroy of evolution which holds that new species can arise on the basis of natural selection.
In the sphere of morality, God is conceived of by deists as the supreme authority of the moral world. Many Desits say that just as God provided the laws governing the physical universe, God also set in place the moral order. In this way, he serves as the judge of all moral beings within the cosmos, but he does not necessarily become involved in the enforcement of the law. Instead, humans are punished and rewarded as a function of their own observance of the natural moral laws. Consequently, deism places emphasis on the freedom of human choice. Disobedience to God's laws will naturally result in negative consequences for the moral being, thus God's personal intervention is not required. It is human reason which replaces a personal relationship with God, since "salvation" in the deist philosophy is based upon accurate knowledge of the laws created by God, including what constitutes good and what constitutes evil.
History of Deism
Beginnings
Deistic ideas have existed since antiquity, and can be identified in the works of pre-Socratic philosophers such as Heraclitus. However, it was not until the time of the European Enlightenment with its emphasis on rigorous skepticism, deductive logic, and empiricism, that deism came into its own as a subject of philosophical discourse. The foundations of the Deist movement as were laid by Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1583-1648) who asserted that human reason was sufficient for purposes of attaining certainty with regard to fundamental religious truths. He also insisted that religion should be deeply involved in practical duties. Deistic writers that that followed Lord Herbert enlarged these themes, particularly the postulation that natural reason should be the establishment for religion.
The independent works of other seventeenth century figures also had a hand in affecting the rise of Deism. Although Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was generally opposed to the concept of natural religion, the philosophical concepts he espoused championed rational thought against ecclesiastical authority. Furthermore, the Cambridge Platonists, reacting to the increased influence of anti-rationalist dogmatism among the Puritan divines, put forward what they conceived to be a set of rational grounds for Christianity. They used Platonism to argue for human reason as the paramount receptacle for Divine revelation.
Similar to Hobbes, John Locke (1632-1704) had an unintentional effect on Deistic thought. In his work Reasonableness of Christianity, he delineated the progression of Christian doctrine through history discriminating between the valuable and worthless elements of the Creed, and showing particular skepticism toward elements of the Biblical texts which involve miracles and revelation; further, he conceived the Christian religion to be a powerful moral philosophy rather than a means to invigorate the human will with spirit. Although each of these ideas had been formulated prior to Locke's publication, this was the first instance where they were combined systematically. Locke arrived at the conclusion that religion in the form that it currently existed was in need of extensive modification. Hence, the foundations for the Deist movement had been laid.
Newtonian physics, the intellectual basis for the scientism of the Enlightenment, propagated the idea that matter behaves in a mathematically predictable manner that can be understood by postulating and identifying laws of nature. Concepts borrowed from the observational methods of science such as objectivity, natural equality, and the prescription to treat like cases similarly became the rubric for scrutinizing all domains of life, and, inevitably, these principles came to inform the reinterpretation of religion, as well. Finally, exasperation as a result of the immense toll centuries of religious warfare had taken upon Europe provided a powerful impetus for placing a more rational framework upon spiritual matters.
Popularity in England
The height of Deist popularity occurred in England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The first explicitly Deistic work was John Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious (1696), which drew upon some of Locke's postulations, stressing a process whereby Truth was inferred from nature rather than revelations directly from the divine. Anything a reader of the scriptures could not comprehend through common sense was to be considered false. Toland meticulously studied the Gospels and clarified every part of them which seemed contrary to reason. Reason, he asserted, was to be the primary yardstick in all matters religious. The publication of Toland's ideas caused much uproar throughout Britain. The Irish parliament ordered mass burning of the book, while English ecclesiastical authorities declared it essentially anti-Christian in its denial of miracles. Toland had incited the process of undermining the credibility of the Christian Bible as a whole, suggesting that it was full of superstition and should be reconsidered.
Soon thereafter in 1713, Anthony Collins published Discourse of Freethinking occasioned by the Rise and Growth of a sect Called Freethinkers. Collins' work went beyond Toland's in championing rational inquiry. According to Collins, all the great moral figures in the Bible taught their disciples by appealing to reason, rather than fear. In contrast, he argued the Church had cultivated fear through superstitious beliefs in order to inspire humans to behave morally, and in the process had created what Collins viewed to be moral corruption. His prescription for religious reform was to excise such fear-inducing superstitions from religious teaching, and to concentrate on the development of morality through rationality in each individual. Moreover, in a later work, Discourse of the Grounds and Reason of Christian Religion, Collins turned the focus to the consideration of whether or not prophecy and miracle are credible phenomena. Specifically, this debate centered around an idea which had been widely accepted up until that time: the notion that the correspondence of Old Testament prophesy and [[New Testament] events were adequate proof of Christianity's truth. Collins challenged this, as he questioned the authenticity and accuracy of events such as those in the Gospels which were supposedly dictated by New Testament writers such as the Apostles. If the miracles reported by these authors were to remain in religious discourse, Collins suggested they be reinterpreted as allegory or metaphor to supplement the more reasonable contributions of Christ and other religious figures. Collins perpetuated suspicions toward the veracity of Biblical documents, and provided further momentum for Biblical criticism.
In 1730 Matthew Tindal published Christianity as Old as the Creator, a book which marked what was probably the culmination of all Deist thought. Tindal synthesized the various deist arguments together and presented them in more intelligible language than his predecessors. He repudiated the mysterious aspects of religion and promoted a general distrust toward religious authority. The ultimate value of religion, he contended, was to aid humans in fashioning their own personal beliefs and to cultivate their moral nature, rather than encouraging them to depend on revelation. He held that in the context of their moral faculties, all humans were equal in the eyes of God at all times. Further, through the gift of reason, humans held the ability to comprehend the consequences of their actions without the continual assistance of God. For Tindal, human duties are evident through the reason behind things and their relationships with one another. Religion, in Tindal's view, was seen as what naturally arises from consideration of god. It was from such natural reflections that religious edifices were constructed. Tindal held that placing anything in religion which is not demonstrable by reason Tindal considered to be an insult to the faculties of human beings and ultimately a defamation of the honor of God.
Popularity Abroad
Deism found even more welcoming environments outside of England. French Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau found the ideas particularly appealing and introduced some new elements of their own. Voltaire used Deism as a vehicle for expressing resentment against the social repression perpetuated by the Roman Catholic Church in France. Of course, the internal passions of the French were already at a peak due to the impending revolution, and Deism fed upon this, becoming identified with the broader anti-ecclesiastical movement. Rather than transforming theology of the Church as the English Deists had, the French advocated an eschewal of theology altogether. In place of the Roman Catholic Church, they suggested a non-dogmatic religion with Deist ideals be inserted. This attempt eventually failed, as the French variation of Deism gradually evolved into a form of materialism devoid of any large-scale religiosity. Rousseau made similar attempts to instill Deism within French life, but also had little success.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the newly developing land of America was dominated by Protestant Christianity, and the popularity of Deist thought, which was by this time subsiding in England, was on the ascendancy in American soil. In 1790, Elihu Palmer, a one-time Baptist minister, launched a nation-wide crusade for Deism. By the turn of the century, Deism had grown in popularity and started to become more accepted among mainstream America. This caused a vociferous backlash from the Christian establishment, but Deism continued to flourish in America well into the nineteenth century.
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. Jefferson attempted to produce his own variation of Biblical scripture with the publication of the so-called "Jefferson Bible", also known as The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. Jefferson composed this volume by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects. Also, he excised portions which he interpreted to be misrepresentations or additions that had been made by the writers of the Gospels. What was left, supposedly, was a completely reasonable version of the doctrine of Jesus, featuring only those parts believable to rational people.
Decline in popularity
Numerous factors contributed to a general decline in the Deism's popularity. Most notably, the writings of David Hume increased doubt about the sturdiness of the First Cause argument and the argument from design. In formulating his critique of Deism, Hume targeted its fundamental assumption that religion is based on natural principles of creation and therefore religion has been complete from the time of creation itself. Conversely, Hume argued that early religion would likely have been barbarous and inchoate- and only through the use of reason would these early absurdities progressively be done away with. Hume had the benefit of modern scholarship and used evidence of new anthropological findings to support his views of earlier religion. Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection also bolstered this view of evolutionary religion. The deleterious effects such arguments upon Deism illustrate the extent to which Deism itself was based upon reason rather than deep religious faith.
Movements both within and without mainstream Christianity also took away from the popularity of Deism. Several Christian Great Awakenings in America emphasized the accuracy of the Bible, advocated a more personal relationship with Christ, an active presence of God in the world, and argued that prayer could alter events. Moreover, the rise of Unitarianism, converted many Deist sympathizers. This could be expected, as the Unitarians adopted many of the Deist ideas. Furthermore, pointedly anti-deist and anti-reason campaigns were organized by some Christian clergymen to vilify deism and equate it with atheism in public opinion. Such developments reflected a general realization in the nineteenth century that reason and rationalism could not solve all of humanity's problems. As emotion became an important component of life again in the Age of Romanticism, Deist ideals subsided.
Contemporary status
Newtonian physics, when simplified, is considered deterministic. Over the past several decades it has been largely superceded by newer theories in physics, most notably quantum mechanics, which has been commonly interpreted as non-deterministic. Since deism is so deeply rooted in the Newtonian mode of thinking, any further philosophical development has been greatly impeded by these philosophical shifts in modern science. Some modern revivals of deism such as pantheism and panentheism have been spurred in limited numbers, usually relying on the internet for recruiting members and rarely becoming reified as corporate religious communities. However, some Unitarian Universalists are currently resurrecting deist ideals in order to counter the recent popularity of Christian Fundamentalism.
Contributions of Deism
Despite its significant decline in popularity, Deism still holds an important place in religious history as both a philosophy and an historical movement. It spurred great scientific advances and much invention by people like Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. Few movements in history gave reason and rationality such importance in religion as the Deists did. Deists made religious scripture and doctrine fair game for literary criticism and scientific analysis. Furthermore, Deists made it evident that while God is important, so too is the human being who conceives of God. Deism combined the common sense of humans with the trained skill of intellectuals so as not to lose the virtues of humanity in relationship with God. This was particularly helpful in the times of great technological advancement contemporaneous with the Deist movement. Conversely, by concentrating so heavily on intellectualism and reason, Deists also made evident the importance of emotion as a stimulant for faith. Later religious systems, such as the Wesleyan movement, were no doubt conscious of the rise and decline of Deism in their attempts to balance reason and faith in their own beliefs.
See also
- Cosmological argument
- Cosmotheism
- Evolutionary Creationism
- Freethought
- Ignosticism
- Panentheism
- Pantheism
- Philosophical theism
- Polydeism
- Transcendentalism
- Transtheism
External links
External informational links
- DEISTPEDIA: The Deist Encyclopedia
- DEISM: The Union of Reason and Spirituality
- Deism and Reason
- Of the Religion of Deism Compared with the Christian Religion by Thomas Paine
- The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
- Definition of deism from The Dictionary of the History of Ideas at the University of Virginia
- English Deism - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- French Deism - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- religious tolerance.org article on Deism
External organization links
- Deism and Reason
- Positive Deism
- Dynamic Deism
- PONDER
- Deist.info
- World Union of Deists
- Aldeism
- American/ Unitarian Conference
- Temple of Reason
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Collins, Anthony. A Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion. New York : Garland Publishing, 1976. ISBN 0824017668
- Joyce, Gilbert Cunningham. “Deism” Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. James Hastings, ed. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1910. 334-345.
- Tindal, Matthew. Christianity as Old as the Creation. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1417947276.
- Toland, John. John Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious: Text, Associated Works and Critical Essays. Alan Harrison, Richard Kearney, Philip McGuinness, Eds. Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1998. ISBN 187467597
- Walters, Kerry S. Rational Infidels: The American Deists. Durango, CAL: Longwood Academic, 1992. ISBN 089341641
- Wood, Allen W. "Deism." Encyclopedia of Religion, Mercia Eliade, ed. New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1987.
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