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Deism: Religions
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Deism's major attraction was to the well-read American intellectual of the late eighteenth century. While deism certainly never replaced orthodox Christianity as Americans' majority religion, it is telling that many of the nation's founders did indeed subscribe to this philosophy and incorporated it into the framework of the young republic. By the early-to mid-nineteenth century, deism in Europe and in America had become colored by skepticism, perhaps most notably as a result of the rapid spread of evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity. It has ... been argued that Romanticism was a reaction to deism and was a possible cause for its decline by the 1830s. In the late twentieth century, deism appeared to undergo something of a revival, although the lack of an organized polity or structure renders precise measurements of the number of practitioners impossible. Many contemporary deists label themselves "practitioners of no religion" or align themselves with liberal Unitarian or Universalist congregations.
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Deism was largely a negative movement. John Orr distinguished Deists from Theists by observing the positivism and negativism of Deism juxtaposed against Theism. The Deists positively advocated their concept of God and his relationship to the world and they championed ideas of their rational and natural approach to religion. While it was the positive aspects of Deism that made it unique, the negative work of Deists was more prominent. On the negative side, Deists set themselves against positive religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Generally, it could be said that the Deists were more against established religions than for their own.
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Deism in Europe and America played an important role both in exposing traditional religion to rationalist criticism and in encouraging the development of rationalist philosophy. Elements of the Deists' ideas have been absorbed by Unitarianism, Modernism, and other modern religious tendencies.
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Deism in Europe and America played an important role both in exposing traditional religion to rationalist criticism and in encouraging the development of rationalist philosophy. Elements of the Deists' ideas have been absorbed by UNITARIANISM,, MODERNISM, (qq.v.), and other modern religious tendencies.R.H.P., RICHARD H. POPKIN, M.A., Ph.D.
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Please familiarize yourself with Deism by reading the many articles the links to the left take you to. By using this site you will learn such things as God and religion are two distinct things, that one of the many benefits Deism offers you and your family and friends is solid protection from cults, that America's Declaration of Independence is a Deistic document, that the Bible and Koran paint a very evil and insane picture of God, that the Designer of Nature is as real as the designs in Nature, plus much, much more!
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The increasing evidence for the antiquity of the earth and against the literal interpretation of Genesis promoted Deism not only in casting doubt on the reliability of the Bible, but ... in disclosing the relative newness of the Judeo-Christian religion. If the earth and mankind existed long before the origin of these revealed religions, then, if Christianity be true, millions of people in the past must have been passed over by God in silence. . .21
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Religions