deism
Deism is a philosophical stance that affirms God on the basis of reason and usually rejects revelation and miraculous intervention in world history.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Definitions
- A philosophical or worldview stance that accepts the existence of God (usually one Creator), grounds religious knowledge chiefly in reason and natural religion, and limits or rejects revelation.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In academic discussion: a Creator framed as first cause of the world, without miracles, without special historical intervention, and without allegiance to one revealed tradition; authors and periods set that border differently.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In public debate: a shorthand for belief detached from church dogma, or for freethinking criticism of revelation, sometimes applied without careful philosophical sense.
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Examples
- The lecturer separated Enlightenment deism from personal theism by noting their different stances on revelation.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - The monograph tracks how deism joined acknowledgment of a Maker with criticism of miracles and of revealed tradition.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In the column the word deism appeared as a freethinking label rather than as a precise metaphysical position.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - The student compared deism with classical theism, asking whether reason alone can ground religion.
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Usage
Everyday talk often treats deism as belief without a church, doubt about miracles, or a blunt opposite of dogmatism. Scholarly writing gains clarity when it splits three layers: metaphysical affirmation of God, a program of natural religion based on reason, and critique of revelation plus intervention in history. Political rhetoric is loose: the label can signal intellectual independence or serve as a charge of unbelief. State whether you mean a doctrine, a personal stance, or an argumentative move. Without that frame the name collapses into theism, atheism or ordinary critique.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Webster 1913 opens Deism from Latin deus (compare French déisme, see Deity) and describes acknowledgment of one God with denial of revelation, tied to natural religion known by reason. Deist names a believer who refuses revealed religion (freethinker); deistic and deistical relate to that stance. Skeat 1910 skips a freestanding DEISM lemma; the cognates sit under DEITY from Latin deus, with dei-st and -ism listed, while THEISM is marked Not related to L. deus. Those public domain entries supply lexical facts; our definition is written apart from their wording.
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Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913; W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 1910, open sourceCommon pairings include Enlightenment deism, philosophical deism, critique of deism, tradition of deism, and debate over deism. Deist as a noun names someone who holds the stance; deistic and deistical are the usual adjectives. Careful usage keeps the lemma apart from classical theism: theists often affirm revelation or historical intervention, while deists typically grant a Maker yet curb or dismiss revealed teaching. Writers still place those borders in different places.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Formally the noun attaches Latin deus to the suffix -ism, as Webster records under Deism and as Skeat marks under DEITY with the derivatives dei-st and -ism. Webster 1913 already lists Deism, Deist, Deistic and Deistical as headwords or related forms. Our senses rest on those public-domain facts plus editorial wording, not on a modern encyclopaedia paraphrase.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Word forms
Regular English noun, usually uncountable; the plural deisms is rare and refers to different kinds or national versions of the stance.
word forms
| przypadek | forma |
|---|---|
| singular | deism |
| plural | deisms |
Word forms: Editorial team
Collocations
- Enlightenment deism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - philosophical deism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - critique of deism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - tradition of deism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - debate over deism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
Synonyms · Antonyms
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)source
Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Etymology
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open sourcealso
W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open sourceRelated words
- deist , noun: one who affirms God yet denies revealed religion (Webster 1913; Skeat DEITY derivatives dei-st)
- deistic , adjective: of or relating to deism (Webster 1913)
- deistical , adjective: pertaining to deism (Webster 1913)
- theism , related noun (contrastive): belief in the existence of a God; Greek θεός line, Not related to L. deus (Webster 1913; Skeat THEISM)
- deizm , etymologically related Polish noun
- deus , etymologically related Latin noun: a god (Webster 1913 Deism; Skeat DEITY)
Related entries
Questions and answers
What does deism mean?
In philosophy it names acknowledgment that God exists, with priority for reason and natural religion, usually with limited or rejected revelation. A narrower register covers a Creator without miracles or special intervention in history. Outside the academy it can mean belief without church dogma, or freethinking criticism of revelation. Scope depends on academic, everyday or rhetorical register.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Where does the word deism come from?
The root is Latin deus joined to the suffix -ism, often via French déisme. Webster 1913 opens Deism from L. deus and F. déisme. Skeat 1910 has no separate DEISM: the family stands under DEITY (L. deus; dei-st, -ism), while THEISM notes Not related to L. deus because that line runs from Greek θεός.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open sourceHow is deism inflected in English?
As a regular English noun it is usually uncountable. A plural deisms shows up only when writers separate national or doctrinal strands. Nearby forms include deist, deistic, deistical, theism and Latin deus (Webster 1913; Skeat 1910).
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)How is deism different from theism?
They do not always match. Deism usually grants a Maker, yet often curbs or dismisses revealed teaching and intervention in history; Webster 1913 stresses denial of revelation and natural religion known by reason. Theism in this service means acknowledgment that God exists; the stance on revelation must be stated in context. Everyday speech often blurs the two labels.