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deism
(redirected from Deists)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
de·ism  (dzm, d-)
n.
The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.

[French déisme, from Latin deus, god; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots.]

deist n.
de·istic adj.
de·isti·cal·ly adv.

deism [ˈdiːɪzəm ˈdeɪ-]
n
(Christian Religious Writings / Theology) belief in the existence of God based solely on natural reason, without reference to revelation Compare theism
[from French déisme, from Latin deus god]
deist  n & adj
deistic , deistical adj
deistically  adv

deism
the acknowledgment of the existence of a god upon the testimony of reason and of nature and its laws, and the rejection of the possibility of supernatural intervention in human affairs and of special revelation. — deist, n.deistic, adj.
See also: God and Gods
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.deism - the form of theological rationalism that believes in God on the basis of reason without reference to revelation
rationalism - the theological doctrine that human reason rather than divine revelation establishes religious truth
Translations
deism [ˈdiːɪzəm] Ndeísmo m
deism [ˈdiːɪzəm ˈdeɪɪzəm] ndéisme m
deism
nDeismus m


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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.
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.
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.
 
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