Deism
Deism is belief in a God or first cause based on reason rather than faith, distinguishing it from theism. Deism is usually synonymous with "natural religion" in 18th century Enlightenment writings. Deism originated in 17th century Europe, gaining popularity in the 18th century Enlightenment especially in America as a modernist movement inspired by the success of the scientific method. Deists emphasize the exclusive application of reason and personal experience to religious questions. Deism is concerned with those truths which humans can discover through a process of reasoning, independent of any claimed divine revelation through scripture or prophets. Most Deists believe that God does not interfere with the world or create miracles.
Deism and Theism are closely related and this sometimes leads to controversy. The root of the word "deism" is from the Latin "deus", while the root of the word "theism" comes from the Greek "theos", both meaning "god" in English. In practice there are a range of beliefs encompassed by both Theism and Deism, however Theism can include faith or revelation as a basis for belief while Deism can include only belief which can be substantiated through reason.
18th century popularity
Deism was founded on the belief that the universe was created by a God who then made no further intervention in its affairs, often expressed by the metaphor of the "Divine Watchmaker" who created a mechanism so perfect as to be self-regulating.
Deism developed in response to Newtonian physics, by which matter is shown to behave in a manner mathematically predictable by natural laws. It was popular among thinkers of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire and the Founding Fathers of the United States. Perhaps deistic thinkers were impressed by Newton's apparent demonstration that reason can finally settle problems that formerly thought to be permanently controversial, and were thus hoped to settle religious questions permanently and scientifically by reason alone, without revelation.
Newtonian physics has since been improved on by other physical theories, most notably quantum mechanics, which can be interpreted to be a non-deterministic theory (the Copenhagen interpretation), but there are also deterministic interpretations (the many-worlds interpretation).
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are perhaps the most well-known of the American founding Deists. Thomas Paine published The Age of Reason, a tract that popularized Deism throughout America and Europe.
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