... As Deism waned in England, it waxed in France and the German states.

Despite the efforts of Calvinists to maintain the dominance of their system, some Congregational churches, especially in the older settlements of New England, gradually developed leanings toward Arminianism, Unitarianism, Deism, and transcendentalism.

Deism is a theological position concerning the relationship between " the Creator " and the natural world.

Deism stood between the narrow dogmatism of the period and skepticism.

Benjamin Franklin wrote in his autobiography, " Some books against Deism fell into my hands ; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's lectures.

* A Critical Examination at Deism

Hermann Samuel Reimarus ( December 22, 1694, Hamburg – March 1, 1768, Hamburg ), was a German philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a knowledge of God and ethics from a study of nature and our own internal reality, thus eliminating the need for religions based on revelation.

In Deism, it is believed that there is a God, but presumed that there are no divinely caused revelations or miracles at all, leaving reports of such to have natural explanations.

For example, in Deism and Pandeism, the Creator has no need to intervene in our Universe at all, and so exhibits no such behavior.

However, a closer reading of the text reveals that Locke relies on Biblical analysis at several key points in his argument, as does study of his spiritual life, mainly influenced by Deism, a belief in which God does not intervene in human affairs.

Professor Martha Nussbaum at the University of Chicago Law school stated, "' Ceremonial Deism ' is an odd name for a ritual affirmation that a Deist would be very reluctant to endorse, since Deists think of God as a rational causal principle but not as a personal judge and father.

Deism, which was largely led by rationality and reason, could allow a belief in the immortality of the soul, but not necessarily in the resurrection of the dead.

Hermeticism transcends both Monotheism and Polytheism as well as Deism and Pantheism within its belief system, which teaches that there is a transcendent God, The All, or The One, of which we, and the entire universe, participate.

Various connecting threads among these varied uprisings include a concern for the " Rights of Man " and freedom of the individual ; an idea ( often predicated on John Locke or Jean-Jacques Rousseau ) of popular sovereignty ; belief in a " social contract ", which in turn was often codified in written constitutions ; a certain complex of religious convictions often associated with Deism or Voltairean agnosticism, and characterized by veneration of reason ; abhorrence of feudalism and often of monarchy itself.

* A phrase, associated with Deism, that is used in the United States Declaration of Independence: "... the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them ..."

The fundamental doctrine of Masonry was portrayed as naturalism, which leads to Deism and gnosticism.

The most relevant among these last are Yiguandao ( and other sects within the Xiantiandao category ), Deism, Tiendery-Tientism, Yaochidao and Zailiism ; among the very new ones the most notable are the various Qigong-inspired groups, such as Falun Gong, Zhong Gong, Yuanji Gong and Wang Gong, and Christian-inspired Taiping-style sects such as Zhushenism, Linglingism, Fuhuodao, Mentuhui and Lightning from the East.

He also converted to Anglicanism in 1698 and wrote, later, The Deist's Manual ( 1705 ), to attack Deism.

Polydeism ( from Greek πολύς ( ' poly ' ), meaning ' many ', and Latin deus meaning God ) is a polytheistic form of Deism encompassing the belief that the universe was the collective creation of multiple Gods, each of whom created a piece of the universe and then ceased to interact with the universe.

: Materialism ( illustrated by the Epicureans ), represented today by atheism, skepticism, and Deism.

Deism may also include a spiritual element, involving experiences of God and nature.

They also advocated Deism and religious tolerance.

The revolutionaries were also inspired by Rousseau to introduce Deism as the new official civil religion of France, scandalizing traditionalists: Ceremonial and symbolic occurrences of the more radical phases of the Revolution invoked Rousseau and his core ideas.

Deism also influenced the development of Unitarianism in America.

They also hoped their organization would be of interest to non-Christians who embrace generic or philosophical theism and Deism.

* Richard Bentley-three " confutations " of Atheism and The Folly of Atheism, and ( what is now called ) Deism

Philosophical theism has parallels with the 18th century philosophical view called Deism.

This new historical consciousness was presaged in the seventeenth century controversies of Deism where Biblical miracles, and especially Christ's resurrection, were called into doubt.

Despite his leanings toward Deism, Alexander has retained a respect for the Catholic Church, believing it to embody a great deal of accumulated human truth within its rituals.

Deism became more prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Age of Enlightenment — especially in Britain, France, Germany and America — among intellectuals raised as Christians who believed in one God, but found they could not believe in supernatural events such as miracles, the inerrancy of scriptures, or the Trinity.

Deism is derived from deus, the Latin word for god.

Deism holds that God does not intervene with the functioning of the natural world in any way, allowing it to run according to the laws of nature that he configured when he created all things.

Deism does not ascribe any specific qualities to a deity beyond non-intervention.

Deism is related to naturalism because it credits the formation of life and the universe to a higher power, using only natural processes.

Lord Herbert of Cherbury ( 1583 – 1648 ) is generally considered the " father of English Deism ," and his book De Veritate ( 1624 ) the first major statement of deism.

An argument in favor of Kant as deist is Alan Wood's " Kant's Deism ," in P. Rossi and M. Wreen ( eds.

Deism is generally considered to have declined as an influential school of thought by around 1800.

The Modern Deism web site includes one list of the unofficial tenets of modern deism.

1996 saw the first Web site dedicated to deism with the WUD site Deism. com.

It split from Deism. com to promote more traditional and historical Deist beliefs and history.

From these effort, many other Deist sites and discussion groups have appeared on the Internet such as Positive Deism, Deist Info, Modern Deism and many others.

Another Alliance member, Unified Deism, was created as a social network that is all-inclusive to various forms of deism.