A person who privately holds deist beliefs (belief in God based on reason rather than religious doctrine) but may not openly acknowledge or practice them.
From 'crypto-' (hidden) + 'deist' (from Latin 'deus' meaning God). This term emerged during 18th-19th century Europe when religious conformity was socially or politically necessary.
Many Enlightenment philosophers and founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin were cryptodeists—they couldn't openly question church authority in their communities, so they developed elaborate philosophical positions defending reason-based religion!
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