Believe in God but don't follow religion? You're probably a Deist - Deism Explained

When speaking about religion, attention is often brought to the five major world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. These traditions dominate public religious life and for that reason, they grab a lot of attention in the world. During the early 17th century, which is commonly known as the Age of Enlightenment, a philosophical movement developed where intellectuals, philosophers and theologians saw moral and social problems with organised religions. Biblical stories were in contradiction with new scientific discoveries and as a result, these thinkers began to use ‘reason’ to attempt to understand knowledge of the divine and absolute truth. It can be understood as the ‘religion of nature’, meaning that one could understand God through reason, rationality and an objective inquiry into natural phenomena. This movement was called Deism and in this video, we will be looking to understand this philosophy, including its historical origins, its rationality and also its criticisms in the 21st century. I hope you enjoy this video and without further adieu, You’re watching All Things Humanities.

Sources:

Piland, Tiffany (2011). "The Influence and Legacy of Deism in Eighteenth Century America". Master of Liberal Studies Theses.

Natural Religion and the Nature of Religion.The Legacy of Deism, Peter Byrne 2013.

Basil Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background: Studies in the Thought of the Age in Relation to Poetry and Religion, 1934, p.59ff.

Sarfati, Yusuf (15 April 2019). "State Monopolization of Religion and Declining Piety in Turkey". Berkley Forum. Washington, D.C.: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs (Georgetown University). Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

Hume, David (1779). The Natural History of Religion. “The primary religion of mankind arises chiefly from an anxious fear of future events; and what ideas will naturally be entertained of invisible, unknown powers, while men lie under dismal apprehensions of any kind, may easily be conceived. Every image of vengeance, severity, cruelty, and malice must occur, and must augment the ghastliness and horror which oppresses the amazed religionist. .. And no idea of perverse wickedness can be framed, which those terrified devotees do not readily, without scruple, apply to their deity.” (Section XIII)