Deism was often synonomous with "natural religion" (as distinct from "revealed religion") in the 17th and 18th centuries; it meant a belief in God but not in any particular mystical or supernatural powers. Interest in deism was not so much a movement or philosophical system as it was a concept which allowed those who were uneasy with the elements of superstition in revealed religion to reconcile with the expanding boundaries of religion and specifically Christianity.
The word "deism" probably originated in 16th century France, but the concept began to emerge in British theology in the 17th century, most notably in De Verirare by Lord Edward Herbert of Cherbury and Christianity Not Mysterious by John Toland. These and other important documents on the history of deism in Britian are collected here alongside lesser-known and hard-to-find articles on the subject.
A Letter to the Deists [1696] Humphrey Prideaux 156pp bound with
Short and Easy Method with the Deists [1723] Charles Leslie 69pp
Christianity not Mysterious [1696] John Toland 208pp bound with
Letter in Answer to a Book entitled Christianity not Mysterious [1697] Peter Browne 188pp
Reflections on the Conduct of the Modern Deists [1727] Samuel Chandler 166pp
Christianity as Old as the Creation [1730] Matthew Tindal 400pp
Usefulness, Truth and Excellency of the Christian Religion [1731] James Foster 378pp
The Moral Philosopher, in a dialogue between Philalethes, a Christian Deist, and Theophanus, a Christian Jew [1738] Thomas Morgan 460pp
A Collection of the Tracts of a certain Free Enquirer [c.1750] Peter Annet 464pp
Overview
Deism was often synonomous with "natural religion" (as distinct from "revealed religion") in the 17th and 18th centuries; it meant a belief in God but not in any particular mystical or supernatural powers. Interest in deism was not so much a movement or philosophical system as it was a concept which allowed those who were uneasy with the elements of superstition in revealed religion to reconcile with the expanding boundaries of religion and ...