deism

American  

[dee-iz-uhm] / ˈdi ɪz əm /

noun

1. belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation (distinguished from theism).

2. belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.

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deism British  

/ ˈdeɪ-, ˈdiːɪzəm /

noun

1. belief in the existence of God based solely on natural reason, without reference to revelation Compare theism

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deism Cultural  

1. The belief that God has created the universe but remains apart from it and permits his creation to administer itself through natural laws. Deism thus rejects the supernatural aspects of religion, such as belief in revelation in the Bible (see also Bible), and stresses the importance of ethical conduct. In the eighteenth century, numerous important thinkers held deist beliefs. (See clockwork universe.)

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Other Word Forms

• deist
  noun
• deistic
  adjective
• deistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of deism

1675–85; < French déisme < Latin de ( us ) god + French -isme -ism

Compare meaning

How does deism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• deism vs. theism

Explanation

Deism is the belief in a God who created the world but hasn’t gotten involved with people since then — as opposed to theism, whose God still takes an active role in the world. According to deism, the creator has a hands-off approach and lets people fend for themselves. Originally the word was used to mean a belief in a deity (as theism is used now), in contrast to atheism, which lacks a God at all. Deism as it is used now is associated with the Enlightenment movement of the 17th and 18th century. A person who believes in deism is a deist.

Example Sentences

Why not deism instead of theism, or pantheism instead of either?

From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2021

“I started feeling this longing for the culture of deism of my childhood … the warm, holy feeling” of a higher power.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2021

Leaders like Thomas Jefferson embraced Enlightenment deism, and the revolutionary writer Thomas Paine turned from political tracts to mockery of Christian revelation.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Werline: I don’t think the Founding Fathers had a form of Christianity that we would immediately recognize today because of the presence of deism.

From Salon • Oct. 8, 2016

Rational deism and clerical religion were to him two equally abhorrent incarnations of the same evil spirit, appearing now as negation and now as restriction.

From William Blake A Critical Essay by Swinburne, Algernon Charles