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Emily Moya

Early American History

7 October 2017

Enlightenment: Deism

Throughout the 18th century, the Enlightenment movement brought about new ways of thinking.

Deism is not a specific religion but rather a particular perspective on the nature of God. Deists believe

that a creator god does exist, but that after the motions of the universe were set in place he retreated,

having no further interaction with the created universe or the beings within it. As such, there are a variety

of common religious beliefs that deists do not accept. (Beyer) This is one of the new ways of thinking

that was introduced by the movement.

Deism was a very popular religious movement which began in England in the mid 1600s

and spread later to Europe and North America. (The Age of Reason) Most people during this

time were breaking away from the Catholic Church, which said that God was the supreme ruler

and if you didnt follow the rules of the church you were damned to hell. Deism brought around

new religious beliefs saying that God existed and should be worshipped, but the rules to follow

were nowhere near as strict as the Catholic Church. The teaching through the idea of deism,

taught that Gods wisdom was to be spread through human reason, not through scriptures. It also

taught that once god had finished creating the earth, he left those he created to strive and grow

for them, that he does not perform miracles. He just watches over his creation.

Deists argued that everything in the world had its own set of rational principles

established by God which could be understood by humans solely through means of their reason.

Most people believed that God created the universe, and then abandoned it to fend for itself.
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Deists rejected the concept of the Holy Trinity as conceived by Christians. They saw Jesus more

as a philosopher and teacher rather than the divine Son of God. (Deism) This helped create the

Protestants and bring about a new life for some people.

There were many deists in the eighteenth century who were Christian deists, intent on

restoring what they saw as true Christianity. (Christian) This was an example of one religion that

was renewed by the Enlightenment. Most of them still obtained the same Christian beliefs but

saw them in a new light. The English deists were the most intellectually influential deists in the

eighteenth century, developing the arguments that influenced American, German, and French

deists, meaning that it was spread not just across the country, but the world.

After going through all of my research, it was interesting to me how different deist

thought from the Catholics and other religions that were around prior to this time. Most of those

who joined the deists and the Enlightenment movement saw God in a different light. This helped

lead to new ways of thinking and new innovations that led to how we live now. In conclusion, I

believe that Deism was an important part in our history, because we may not be where we are in

science and religion among other things without that change.

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Annotated Bibliography

Beyer, Catherine. "Deism." ThoughtCo, Feb. 4, 2017, https://www.thoughtco.com/deism-95703.

- This page defines Deism and gives some pretty good incite on what deism is and
How it was seen during the time of enlightenment. It is very organized and very
informative overall.

Christian Deism enlightenmentdeism. https://enlightenmentdeism.com/christian-deism/

-This page explains the main religion that was spread through the enlightenment. It also
gives some very interesting information on the people who brought this religion into
light. The sources the page used are very credible sources.

Deism and the American Enlightenment. Gettysburg.

http://public.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/341/sites/Enlightenment/vinnys%20page.html

-This site goes into a bit more information on effects of deism during the enlightenment.
It basically describes the different beliefs and the parts they played during this time.

The Age of Reason, The Enlightenment and Deism. Internetbiblecollege.

http://internetbiblecollege.net/lessons/the%20age%20of%20reason,%20the%20enlighten
ment%20and%20deism.htm

-This site gives a little overview on the subject of deism during the enlightenment period.
It bullet points key ideas and views expressed during the time period, but does not go into
much detail.