From the belief that god is either dead or gone, to all the famous people you’ve heard of but never would imagine were deists. This is a list of 5 amazing facts about Deism.
God is Dead
Deism is one of the few religions that doesn’t believe in god in a conventional sense. Where as most religions believe there is a supreme being, that created the Universe, and has ultimate power. Deists do believe that there was a God who made the Universe, and created people, and gave us the ability to reason, but after giving us all this he disappeared for reasons unknown, or died.
They Don’t Worship God
Deists generally do not worship their Gods, since he is no longer around, why would he care or even notice if you believe in him or not. They also believe that God doesn’t even care if you believe in him or not. Deists also feel that you shouldn’t follow prophets, instead you should rely on your own experiences, and your god given reason. Although God left he still cares about how you live your life, God wants to live morally, and believes that you should decide how to live well using the rational thinking, and logic he gifted to humans.
The Age Of Enlightenment
Deism became popular in the age of enlightenment, mostly in France Germany, the USA, and Britain. It’s following was mainly comprised of ex-Christians who believed in god but wanted to be able to live rationally and believe in god for reasons other than faith. The watchmaker theory was popular among deists. The theory being that if you see a watch on the ground you assume it must have a watchmaker, and that the same goes for the universe. Although the watchmaker argument has since been disproved at the time it was quite the enticing theory.
There Is No Set Doctrine
Deism can be a confusing religion since there is no set doctrine, many deists believe very different things. For instance some deists believe in the soul, and some don’t. Some believe that souls survive after you human body dies and carries on into the afterlife, to be rewarded or punished by god. Deist Benjamin Franklin believed in reincarnation, or resurrection. It’s estimated that in 2001 there were 49,000 deists in the U.S. At the time it was the fastest growing religion.
Famous Deist
There are many famous Deists including six of America’s founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, John Adams, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. There are still many other famous deists like, Abraham Lincoln, Neil Armstrong, Voltaire, Albert Einstein, Napoleon Bonaparte.