RT Article
T1 The Religious Enlightenment and the English Jesus-Centered Deists
JF Religions
VO 16
IS 2
A1 Waligore, Joseph
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1915521963
AB In most of the twentieth century, the Enlightenment was seen as a time when religious belief was incompatible with Enlightenment values of reason, toleration, and science. David Sorkin maintains that many religious Protestants, Catholics, and Jews emphasized toleration and reason while participating in the secular public sphere. Sorkin asserts that these people were part of the religious Enlightenment. This article focuses on a group of ten English deists who identified themselves as deists, claimed to be Christian, and devoted their writings to explaining their concept of true Christianity. This article argues that these ten deists, whom I label “Jesus-centered deists”, were much more religious than other deists. Like the Protestants, Catholics, and Jews that Sorkin considers part of the religious Enlightenment, these deists emphasized toleration and used reason to defend their conception of God and genuine Christianity. Furthermore, these deists participated in discussions in the public sphere about secular Enlightenment concerns. Unlike stereotypical Enlightenment deists, these Jesus-centered deists did not believe in an inactive and impersonal God. Instead, they believed in a loving and kind God who performed miracles and made revelations. They also emphasized developing a closer relationship with God through prayer. These deists should be included in the religious Enlightenment.
K1 English religious history
K1 English deism
K1 Jesus-centered deism
K1 Enlightenment deism
K1 religious Enlightenment
K1 Deism
DO 10.3390/rel16020124