The belief that God created the universe but does not intervene in its operation or human affairs. Deists view God as a cosmic architect who established natural laws and then withdrew from active involvement.
From Latin 'deus' (god) + '-ism' (doctrine). The term emerged during the Enlightenment (17th-18th centuries) as thinkers sought a rational alternative to traditional revealed religion.
Deism was the 'thinking person's religion' of the Enlightenment, embraced by founding fathers like Jefferson and Franklin! It offered a way to believe in God while rejecting miracles and supernatural intervention, perfectly suited to an age discovering scientific laws.
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