deism
(ˈdiːɪz(ə)m)
[mod. f. L. de-us god + -ism. Cf. F. déisme (in Pascal a 1660).]
The distinctive doctrine or belief of a deist; usually, belief in the existence of a Supreme Being as the source of finite existence, with rejection of revelation and the supernatural doctrines of Christianity; ‘natural religion’.
| 1682 Dryden Religio Laici Pref. (Globe) 186 That Deism, or the principles of natural worship, are only the faint remnants or dying flames of revealed religion in the posterity of Noah. 1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. ix. 306 Modern Deism being the very same with old Philosophical Paganism. 1759 Dilworth Pope 63 There breathes in this inscription [ens entium miserere mei] the genuine spirit of deism. 1774 Fletcher Doctr. Grace Wks. 1795 IV. 203 Deism is the error of those who..think that man..needs no Redeemer at all. 1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th c. 260 That decorous and philanthropic deism which is a growing peril of the age. 1877 E. R. Conder Bas. Faith i. 25 Deism should etymologically have the same sense with Theism, but it is commonly taken to carry with it the denial of what is called revealed religion. Theism conveys no such implication. |
† 2. The condition of being a god or as God. Obs.
| 1726 De Foe Hist. Devil viii, He [the Devil] set her [Eve's] head a madding after deism, and to be made a goddess. |