Deism versus Theism: What are the differences and similarities between them if any at all?

Question

Also can Deists and Theists be Freethinkers as well as Humanists?

Answer 1

An atheist is one who believes there is no God.

A theist is one who believes in at least one divine being. Someone who believes there is only one God is a monotheist. Someone who believes in several gods is a polytheist.

An agnostic is neither a theist nor an atheist. An agnostic believes it is impossible to know whether or not there is a God.

Deist is not a synonym for theist. A deist rejects revelation or authority as a source of belief, believing in God purely on rational grounds. The deists of the 17th and 18th century generally viewed God as the original creator of the universe and its laws but rejected the concept of God’s continuing involvement in creation.

Freethinkers hold the philosophical viewpoint that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logical principles and not be comprised by authority, tradition, or any other dogma.

From these definitions, it sounds like Deists and Theists can be Freethinkers by believing in God based on logic. Although most Freethinkers are Atheists and would probably disagree.

And, of course, most Theists are not Freethinkers, namely Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Humanists affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities.

Anyone can be a humanist.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities.

There is also a narrower sense in which theism refers to the belief that one or more divinities are immanent in the world, yet transcend it, along with the idea that divinity(s) is/are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.[1]

The term is attested in English from 1678, and was probably coined to contrast with atheism, a term that is attested from ca. 1587

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Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that became prominent in England, France, and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. Deists typically reject supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and divine revelation prominent in organized religion, along with holy books and revealed religions that assert the existence of such things. Instead, Deists hold that religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of one God or supreme being.

I was a Deist until I embraced my atheism. I would say that a Deist is more of a free-thinker.