Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that derives the existence and nature of God from reason and personal experience.


History:
The term "Deism" originally referred to a belief in one deity, rather than the belief in no God or belief in many Gods. During the later 17th century, the meaning of "Deism" began to change. It referred to forms of radical Christianity - belief systems that rejected miracles, revelation, and the infallibility of the Bible. Today Deism is not associated with any religion. There is no Deistic network of places of worship, a priesthood or hierarchy of authority.
Deism was greatly influential among politicians, scientists and philosophers during the later 17th century and 18 century, in England, France Germany and the United States. Early Deism was a logical outgrowth of the great advances in astronomy, physics, and chemistry that had been made by Bacon, Copernicus, Galileo, etc. It was a small leap from rational study of nature to the application of the same techniques in religion. Early Deists believed that the Bible contained important truths, but they rejected the concept that it was inspired by the Gods and was infallible.They were leaders in the study of the Bible as a historical (rather than an inspired, revealed) document. Lord Herbert of Cherbury was one of the earliest supporters of Deism in England. In his book "De Veritate," (1624), he described the "Five Articles" of English Deists:

1. Belief in the existence of a single supreme God
2. Humanity's duty to revere God
3. Linkage of worship with practical morality
4. God will forgive us if we repent and abandon our sins
5. Good works will be rewarded (and punishment for evil) both in life and after death

Beliefs and Practices:

1) Most Deists believe that God created the universe, "wound it up" and then disassociated himself from his creation. Some refer to Deists as believing in a God who acts as an absentee landlord or a blind watchmaker. A few Deists believe that God still intervenes in human affairs on rare occasions.
2) They believe that miracles do not happen. The "world operates by natural and self-sustaining laws of the creator." That is, the world continues to function under the same laws that God initially set up.
3)They do not view God as an entity in human form.
4)They believe that one cannot access God through any organized religion, set of beliefs, rituals, sacraments or other practice.
5)God has not selected a chosen people (e.g. Jews or Christians) to be the recipients of any special revelation or gifts.
6)Deists deny the existence of the Trinity. They generally view Jesus as a philosopher, rabbi, teacher and healer, but not as the Son of God. Their beliefs are similar to those of the Jewish Christians -- the initial Christian movement centered in Jerusalem and led by James, the brother of Jesus.
7)They believe that a practical system of ethics and a moral code can be derived from reason without the need to appeal to religious revelation and church dogma. "Most Deists believe humans are too innately noble to require supernatural coercion and threats of eternal damnation to behave morally."
8)Most Deists view God as having left his creation behind so prayer makes no sense to them. However, some pray to express their appreciation to God for his works. The latter generally do not ask for special privileges, or try to assess the will of God through prayer, or ask God to perform miracles.
9)Most Deists do not actively evangelize the public.


Deist Terminology:
Deist authors - and 17th- and 18th-century theologians in general referred to God using a terms such as:

• Supreme Being
• Divine Watchmaker
• Divine Author of the Universe
• Nature's God: used in the United States Declaration of Independence
  
• Father of Lights: Benjamin Franklin, when proposing that meetings of the Constitutional Convention begin with prayers

Famous Deists:
Other European Deists were Anthony Collins (1676-1729), Matthew Tindal (1657-1733). J.J. Rousseau (1712-1778) and F.M.A. de Voltaire (1694-1778) were its leaders in France. Many of the leaders of the French and American revolutions followed this belief system. Among the U.S. founding fathers, John Quincy Adams, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison Thomas Paine, and George Washington were all Deists. Deists played a major role in creating the principle of separation of church and state, and the religious freedom clauses of the First Amendment of the Constitution. We have been unable to find estimates of the number of Deists in North America. Although both the U.S. and Canada census document religious affiliations, many Deists are listed under Freethinkers, Humanists, persons of no religion, Agnostics, etc. Many Deists who feel a need to join a spiritual community of searchers for truth become members of congregations associated with the Unitarian Universalist Assosication.

Quotations:

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God. " Albert Einstein. "We believe that God designed and created the world, and governs it through natural laws that can be discovered through reasoning, observation, and experience. We feel that God does not reveal himself to us through inspired or revealed texts or by supernatural means, but through creation itself." Excerpt from the Peace Dale Christian Deist Fellowship Website "God gave us reason, not religion," Slogan of the World Union of Deists Deism Videos: For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism http://www.deism.com/index.html http://www.religioustolerance.org/deism.htm http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/deism.htm