Deism

The deism , of Latin deus (god) is the belief in creative God, but not in his religious instrumentalisation. The deists believe neither in the priests, neither with a “ Église ”, nor with crowned texts or Messie S. the deism thus consists of the assertion, out of any religious revelation, of the existence of a to be supreme whose nature and properties remain unknown.

According to certain atheistic authors, the deism would be a Athéisme not succeeded, which denies the deists .

History

It is as of the 16th century that appears this intermediate concept between the Christian Théisme and the Athéisme. It is not here any more of divine Transcendance but about Immanence. The historical authenticity of the Révélation in the Écritures is disputed: the supreme Être becomes directly perceptible with faculties of the Homme.

Because the deism claims to do without the revealed dogmas of the religion, and even to dispute them, it was, as of the XVIIe century, one of the privileged targets of the Christianisme, as well as the Athéisme.

Since Kant (XVIIIe century), it is of use to distinguish deism and Théisme. Indeed, this last wants to determine by the Raison the nature of God, whereas the deism is satisfied to affirm its existence, without claiming to be able to include/understand it.

Voltaire declared deist, in particular in his article entitled “Prayer with God”. The God deist is universal, it does not have there an intermediary between the beings and God, this God is quite higher than “human smallness” and thus does not occupy its businesses, its worships, its rites and other superstitions. This design of distant God is summarized in these two alexandrines of the French: “The universe embarrasses me, and I then to think/ That this clock exists and does not have a clock and watch maker”.

In the entourage of Newton and supplied with the new comprehension of the Univers which its theories make foresee, the deism gave rise to the idea of a natural Religion whose echo the first Constitutions of Anderson make which found the modern Franc-maçonnerie in 1723.

The deism inspired by many declarations of American politicians at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of XIXe (Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine). The concept of creator appears in the Déclaration of American independence of 1776.

Two designs To be it supreme and of the deism to the 18° century

the Abbot Mallet in the article “deists” of the Encyclopedia or reasoned Dictionary of sciences, arts and the trades lengthily quotes Mr. the abbot of the Room, doctor de Sorbonne, who, in a treaty of the true religion printed in Paris in 1737 distinguishes two types of deists:

  • “the first species of Deists advances and supports these proposals: it is necessary to admit the existence of a being supreme, eternal, infinite, intelligent, creative, preserving and sovereign main of the universe which governs all the movements and with all the events which result from it… ”. It seems to be refers here to Newton and the English deists, because at the beginning of his article, the Mallet Abbot refers to Unitarian and alleged English strong spirits.

  • “the second species of Deists reasons differently. The supreme being, say, is a being eternal, infinite, intelligent, which controls the world with order and wisdom; it follows in its control the immutable rules of truth, the order and the moral good, because it is wisdom, the truth, and holiness essentially. The eternal rules of the good order are obligatory for all the be reasonable… ”. This design falls under the tradition of Malebranche and Leibniz

References

  • Mallet, 1988, " Déistes" in Diderot, D' Alembert, the Encyclopedia , volume 4, Friedrich Frommann Verlag, p.774

  • Voltaire, 1763, " Treaty on the Tolerance, Prayer with Dieu" .

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