Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person who believes in deism: A deist is someone who holds the philosophical position that a supreme being (God) created the universe but does not intervene in it with miracles or supernatural revelation, governing instead through rational natural laws.

2. Adjective:

   • Of or relating to deism: Pertaining to the belief system of deism or characteristic of a deist.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Thomas Jefferson is often considered a deist who believed in a creator but not in religious dogma.
  • As a deist, she found the concept of a non-intervening creator more rational than traditional theism.

• Adjective:

  • His deist views were evident in his writings on nature and reason.
  • The philosopher presented a deist argument for the existence of a first cause.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Enlightenment thinkers were deists, emphasizing reason and observation of the natural world over religious authority.
  • The deist principles of the Founding Fathers influenced the secular nature of the U.S. government.

Variants and Related Words

• Deism (n): The philosophical belief in a God based on reason and nature, without acceptance of supernatural revelation.

  • Deism was a common belief among intellectuals during the Age of Reason.

• Deistic (adj): Another adjective form meaning of or relating to deism.

  • His arguments were fundamentally deistic in nature.

Synonyms

• Freethinker (n): A person who forms opinions on the basis of reason, independent of authority or tradition, especially in religious belief. (Note: This is a broader term that can include deists.)
• Rationalist (n): A person who bases their opinions and actions on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response. (This can overlap with deist philosophy.)

Antonyms

• Theist (n): A person who believes in the existence of a god or gods, specifically of a creator who intervenes in the universe.
• Atheist (n): A person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.

Adjective

1. of or relating to deism

Noun

1. a person who believes that God created the universe and then abandoned it