Deists Provide the Best Governance, Like Them or Not
Crazy as this may seem, here goes what appears to be the “3 Bears of Historically Good Governance”:
Too Cold = Atheists, Agnostics, Anarchists, who rely too heavily on “no religion or rules”
Too Hot = Polytheists, Fundamentalists, Evangelicals who rely too heavily on God(s) and mysticisms, not enough on Rationality and Science
Just Right = Deists of All Stripes, who rely on a balance in Science and the Natural Law of One Supreme God
Maybe Deism strikes the right balance between Church and State?
Definition of Deism: Deism is best described as the belief that our existence was created by a Supreme Being, who often (but not necessarily) avoids interference in the management of our world. Thus, Deists largely believe that we are to use Science and reason to best understand and control our existence. Christian Deism believes further in the teachings (if not necessarily the Divinity), of Jesus Christ. A Deist government may encourage broad religious principles, yet discourage the confusion of religious specifics. The premise of our US Constitution is a highly Deist “separation of church and state”.
Deist History: Deist thought goes back to the teachings of Ancient Greece. Clement of Alexandria (150–215 AD) who was an early Deist Philosopher. A strong, early Deist statement was made by Herbert of Cherbury (1583–1648). Deism frequently influenced the thinking of Enlightenment Age authors John Locke (1632–1704), David Hume (1711–1776), and Thomas Paine (1737–1809). Deist thinking led by Voltaire, Robespierre, and Rousseau, preceded the French Revolution. It would appear that before, during, and after the American Revolution, the United States became a virtual playground for Deists, building a great Nation while tolerating Christian Fundamentalists and Jews (and to a lesser degree Islamists, Hindus, Buddhists, and others).
Jewish Deists: Some Jews may be considered the original Deists. Take Jesus for example, he believed in one God, and wasn’t a big rules guy. Another cited example of a Jewish Deist was Maimonides (1138–1204), a Sephardic Rabbi, Astronomer and personal physician to Crusades hero Saladin (perhaps an Islamic Deist). The Jewish concept of Agnosticism regarding Christ’s divinity would be Deist, also the views of most modern non-observant Jews. Conservative, Orthodox Jews are marginal Deists, as they do believe in a form of evolution, but tend to embrace a strict religious order.
Islamic Deists: Early Islam was rich with Deist thought, believing that rationality and inquiry were the keys to affirming the existence of God and understanding the Quran. The Mu’Tizila school of theology (mid 8th Century), followed by the Ash-ari School (9th-10th Century), practiced an almost pure Deism. In the 10th Century, the Maturidi school began to question Ash-ari school, believing that divine revelation was needed in addition to reason, to affirm the existence and intent of God. The Islamic Nations were centers of science and learning from the 7th to 10th Centuries, but have since been in decline. Is this due to a gradual rejection of Deism in favor of a competing “spirituality” and “revelation” required by Islamic Fundamentalism?
Sikh Deists: The Sikhs are essentially East Indian Deists. They are monotheistic (as opposed to Hindus who are polytheists), Sikhs follow the teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539) who stated “truth is the highest virtue, but higher still is truthful living” (which seems a quite Deist statement). Is it any wonder that Sikhs are now kicking butt in Western academia and politics? (ie Nikki Haley).
Secular Humanists: Secular Humanists might be described as “Deists who almost forget the part where a hands-off God created everything”, as they stress the Unitarian belief that humans can figure everything out.
Freemasons: Freemasonry may be another pure forms of Deism, since it requires a belief in a Supreme Creator for all members, followed-up by good behavior based upon science and reason, and is available to all religious creeds. Since most Freemasons also go to churches, one might say that it is largely a Christian Deist organization, with many members free to believe in the Divinity of Christ. Though its hard to say since Freemasons are a secret society, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Paul Revere were known to be Freemasons. The Prince Hall Freemasons are African American. Additionally, 15 of 45 US Presidents were known to be Freemasons. (Tabbert,nd)
Unitarians: Unitarianism is almost purely Deist, but believing specifically that though Jesus was sent by God to cleanse humanity, Christ himself was human. The Unitarians had their origins in 16th Century Poland, Transylvania, England and elsewhere, and were known by outsiders as Arians (those at Nicaean Council who didn’t believe in the Trinity), though there are many differences with Arianism. Five US Presidents (Jefferson, both Adams, Fillmore, Taft) were Unitarians.
Founding Fathers: The faiths of the Founding Fathers could be divided into three groups: 1) Pure Deists, such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, 2) Anglicans, Congregationalist, Presbyterians heavily influenced by Deism (Franklin, Washington, John Adams, the largest group), and 3) Traditional Christians believing in the Trinity (John Jay, Patrick Henry). These Patriots apparently put-aside any religious differences for the common cause of creating a viable, self-determining Nation based upon egalitarian principles. Evangelical and conservative Unitarian Founders wanted to use terms such as “savior” and “redeemer”, while Founding Deists stuck to broader terms such as “The Creator”, “Providence”, and “The Ruler of Great Events”. The Constitution ended up rather generic with respect to any religion, and doesn’t specifically mention God (though many State Constitutions do so). The First Amendment specifically says “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion”, so the Deists prevailed, though modern revisionists may tell you otherwise. (Weiner,ND),(Britannica.com,nd),(pbs.org,nd)
Presidents: There is some overlap here (ie Deists who were also Freemasons and/or Unitarians), but Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Tyler considered themselves Deists, while Washington, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Johnson, Garfield, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Harding, F. Roosevelt, Truman and Ford were Freemasons. Lyndon Johnson was a 1st degree Mason, Reagan an honorary Mason, and Clinton a DeMolay (a kind of Jr. Mason). Hoover and Nixon were Quakers. Lincoln is generally considered to be a Deist, although he made no specific pronouncements.
Boy Scouts: It’s funny when churches and governments go after the highly-Deist Freemasons, because the Boy Scouts are a very similar Deist organization (they until recently required all members to believe in some sort of God, not necessarily Christian, and then followed-up with a system of rational good behavior). You can see why this has worked so well for youth, as its rather generic, inclusive, and performance based. Attempts by the Catholics and Mormons to hijack the Boy Scouts have largely been thwarted (thank God…the noninterventionist one).
Atheists: Atheists may be described as Deists without any belief in God. Sorry Bill Maher, I like you but you smoke too much pot and never got married/had kids, you need to find the hands-off God.
Religious Fundamentalism: This is of course a large subject, but this term may best describe the strict scriptural interpretations, religious revelations, and perhaps proselytizations required of adherents (of all religions), that may lie in contrast to the rational reasonings of Deism.
Hitler and Stalin: Hitler’s religious views are somewhat contradictory. He appears to have embraced Christianity during his rise to power. Later, he rejected Christianity, and thought it useful only if it was wholly subservient to the State. He also hated Atheists, possibly because they tended to be Marxists and hard to subdue. Stalin was an avowed Atheist, in the Marxist tradition. Generally, if you see a leader that hates Freemasons and Jews (Franco, Stalin, Hitler, several Popes, Ayatollahs and Mullahs), head for the exits!
Fareed Zakaria: At this point, I decided just for the Hell of it, to bring in Fareed Zakaria, who describes himself as a secular and non-practicing Muslim, whose beliefs are “somewhere between a Deism and an Agnosticism”. This seems to make sense since he is politically dead-center and seems to always “get it”. Fareed for President?
Why Deists May Be Better Leaders than Fundamentalists and/or Atheists: I’m not advertising here, just stating the historical facts. No sooner was Monotheism invented (by Jews, Zoroastrians) millennia before Christ, than books like Leviticus were invented to beat people over the head. The nice thing about Deism is a “build-it-then-walk-away” God, who doesn’t micromanage. This leaves room for things like “Natural Law” and “Free Will” (which most churches employ anyway, since they don’t have a police force). Once science and laws were developed (by Greeks, Romans, the Renaissance figures), this conveniently filled in many of the blanks. The rise of Western Statehood/Nationhood then built a nice Deist church-state airlock. The Deist view seems to be a good hedge against slothful pagans and atheists, who may have a disorderly view of the world (not necessarily, but often). The concept of a unifying God, provided our Founding Fathers with a convenient Statist belief-system, which implied tolerance, unity, and order (without giving the store away to fanatics on either side).
But the biggest reason Deists make better leaders than Fundamentalists or Atheists is this: “Deists tolerate Fundamentalists and Atheists much better than Fundamentalists and Atheists tolerate Deists”. That’s right, Deists take the Agnostic position on the Divinity of Christ (which accepts the possibility of the Christian Fundamentalist premise), but Christian Fundamentalists would use the Deist position for excommunication (or worse) in the other direction. I can’t speak for Atheists (as they don’t seem to be in any organized group…actually a kind of positive there, right?), but obviously they are lacking “organizing” governing principles.
Conclusion: After all that, I believe “these truths are self-evident”, that generally the good-governance of our Nation has been conducted by Deists, if not Christian Deists. This is because Deists seem to have forged a working relationship with Trinity-adherents and Fundamentalists (until recently). Additionally, judging from the leadership successes of non-observant Jews, Sikhs, and Islamic Deists of the 7th-10th Centuries (and the relative failures of Orthodox Jews, Hindus, and Islamic Fundamentalists), I’d say Deism is good governing stuff. I might add here that a lack of Deistic order may invite Atheism and/or Anarchy (or possibly malaise), but the examples and precedents are less clear. Donald Trump (basically an atheistic-anarchist who pretends to be a Fundamentalist Evangelical Christian) may be the worst of all. He appears to be in the Hitler tradition of embracing Christianity only as a tool to achieve power.
Can a Trinitarian also be a Deist? I would say yes, since Deism may just describe only the broad beliefs associated with good governance (while checking specific religious baggage at the door). Thus, wearing your church hat, you could be 100% against alcohol and abortions, while wearing your Deist governing hat you might be committed to the more practical/enforceable beliefs of 0.08% and 12-week limits. The question “can an atheist also be a Deist?” is more complicated…strictly speaking, no, but I suppose if an Atheist believed in a kind of Nature = God = Creation, that might qualify (but that is technically called “Pantheism”). As such, Mitt Romney (Mormon), Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi (Catholics) who don’t set a religious test for immigration would pass the Deist test. Tommy Tuberville (Church of Christ) and Mike Johnson (Southern Baptist) and Donald Trump (Presbyterian??), who set a religious test for immigration, would not pass the Deist test. Mike Johnson and Che Guevarra, Josef Stalin, Bill Maher, George Will, and Barney Frank (Atheists), and would not meet the Deist test, unless they were Pantheists.
This may be a good time to remember our American Deist traditions within the Founding Fathers and Presidents (if not also ancient and International Deist thinkers), those who tolerate others better than others tolerate them, all in the name of good governance.
Other Vern Scott Articles on the History of Religion:
