What is Deism?
{{refimprove|date=June 2020}} {{wiktionary}} [[File:Thomas Paine rev1.jpg|right|thumb|[[Thomas Paine]] was a famous deist and wrote ''[[The Age of Reason]].'']] '''Deism''' is the belief that a higher being (like [[God]]) exists but that the only [[revelation]] of God is in nature and [[reason]], not in [[sacred]] books or [[prophet]]s. Deism says that people should rely on logic and reason and not traditions of a [[religion]] based on a holy book. People who follow deism are called '''deists'''. Deists believe that a higher power created the world. They may not believe that the creation of the universe happened because of a spontaneous event. They usually reject [[supernatural]] events like [[miracle|miracles]] and believe that God has set up [[natural laws]] that govern how the universe works and how people should act that and God does not interfere with those laws. Most deists also see holy [[scripture]]s, such as the [[Bible]] and [[Qur'an]], as writings by people, rather than by God. Famous deists from [[history]] include the [[United States|American]] political leader and inventor [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[France|French]] Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], the French philosopher [[Voltaire]],<ref name=TIME/> the [[Great Britain|British]] philosopher [[Thomas Paine]], and the French revolutionary leader [[Maximilien de Robespierre]]. Many historians think that US President [[Thomas Jefferson]] was a deist though he failed to say so. <ref name=TIME>{{cite book|last=Gay|first=Peter |agency=Time-Life Books |title=Age of Enlightenment|url=https://archive.org/details/ageofenlightenme00gayp|year=1966|publisher=Time|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ageofenlightenme00gayp/page/36 36]|chapter=A Religion of Rationality}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} == Other websites == * [http://www.deism.com/ World Union of Deists] {{religion-stub}} [[Category:Theology]]