Q32
Is deism a stable position?
The question, at its strongest
"I am not confused and I am not angry. I simply think deism is the most honest position. A Creator explains why there is something rather than nothing. But every claimed revelation contains things a good God would not say, the revelations contradict each other, and God has left the question so unclear that sincere people disagree everywhere. Calling deism 'unstable' is just a way of pressuring me to choose a religion. Why can't 'a Creator, and nothing more' be a place to live?"
Why people ask it
Religious families and teachers often treat deism as a phase that ends in atheism unless someone intervenes, and deists hear that as pressure. In 2018 a workshop of Turkish religion teachers reported deism as prominent among young people with problems of belief, and the claim became a national debate. The same question exists wherever people believe in "a higher power" but not in a religion.
Short answer
Deism can be held for a lifetime, and some people do. It is "unstable" in a narrower sense: it keeps a Creator who is wise and good enough to make an ordered world, but then assumes this Creator has nothing to say to the beings who ask about Him. Muslim theologians argued in different ways that a wise God would guide those He created, and the Quran says that denying revelation is a failure to "appraise Allah with true appraisal" (6:91). Historically, English deism had its high point between about 1689 and 1742 and then declined as a movement, though the reasons are debated. In Türkiye, survey data suggest that many who feel close to the "deist" label are protesting religious people more than holding a worked-out philosophy. Patience and honest conversation help more than pressure.
The full answer
6min read
For the heart and mind
If you are a deist, you are not in "no relationship" with God. You already believe that He made you. That belief carries questions with it — gratitude, purpose, what He might want — and you can keep asking them.
If someone you love has become a deist, do not treat them as lost. Listen to why. In the Konya teachers' report, the most-asked question was why God "does not intervene in evil on earth and remains silent" (İktibas, 2018). That is a real question; a lecture will not answer it. The pages on suffering and on religious hypocrisy may help you understand what they are carrying. Keep the relationship warm; the Quran tells even the Prophet (pbuh) that compelling belief is not his task (10:99, on the page "Is claiming one religion is true arrogant?").
What the Quran says
The Quran calls denial of revelation a failure to value God rightly. "And they did not appraise Allah with true appraisal when they said, 'Allah did not reveal to a human being anything.' Say, 'Who revealed the Scripture that Moses brought as light and guidance to the people?'" (6:91). The verse is in Sura al-Anʿam, a Meccan sura. Ibn Kathir reports that Ibn ʿAbbas, Mujahid and ʿAbdullah ibn Kathir said it was revealed about the Quraysh (the Prophet's Meccan opponents), and that "it was also said" to be about some Jews. He reads the phrase as meaning they "did not estimate Allah with an estimation due to Him" when they denied that He sends anything down; he gives no explicit preference between the two occasions. The verse's own argument is that revelation has already happened (the Torah of Moses), so a blanket denial ignores evidence.
The Quran addresses people who already accept a Creator. "If you asked them, 'Who created the heavens and earth and subjected the sun and the moon?' they would surely say, 'Allah.' Then how are they deluded?" (29:61); "…but most of them do not reason" (29:63). These Meccan verses address the Quraysh, who believed in God as Creator but rejected His messenger. The Quran's complaint is not that they lack a Creator but that they stop there. Reading this as a description of modern deists is a modern application.
How scholars have understood it
The classical argument from grace and wisdom. The Muʿtazila and later Shiʿi theologians held that God's grace (luṭf) — what moves people toward obedience without forcing them — is required of Him, and that sending prophets is an instance of it; Shaykh al-Mufid also grounded this in God's wisdom, since "the objective of creation is predicated on it" (Meghjee). The Ashʿaris denied that anything is required of God; al-Ghazali's al-Iqtiṣād argues that God sends prophets freely, not by obligation (Meghjee). The Maturidi position, which stresses God's wisdom (ḥikma), has not yet been checked.
What the argument shows. All schools agree that a wise God did send prophets. Only the Muʿtazili and Shiʿi line says reason shows He had to. For a deist, the useful point is the shared one: a Creator who acts with wisdom is not a Creator who is indifferent to the creatures He gave reason.
History
English deism. Lord Herbert of Cherbury's De Veritate (1624) is usually called the first major statement of deism in English (Wikipedia). Britannica gives his five religious ideas "recognized as God-given and innate": a supreme being, the duty to worship him, a virtuous life as the best worship, repentance for sins, and rewards and punishments after death. John Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious (1696) stressed "the rational element in natural religion", and Matthew Tindal's Christianity as Old as the Creation (1730) became the centre of the controversy (Britannica; Wikipedia). Britannica puts "the high point of Deist thought" in England "from about 1689 through 1742"; by 1754–56 the controversy "had passed its peak". It notes that deism then "took deep root in 18th-century Germany". In France, Voltaire, who lived in England in 1726–1728, became the best-known deist (Wikipedia).
Why it declined is debated. Wikipedia, citing the historian Peter Gay, describes deism as entering "slow decline as a recognizable movement in the 1730s", and lists reasons attributed to Mossner: the growing influence of naturalism and materialism; Hume and Kant questioning reason's ability to answer metaphysical questions; the violence of the French Revolution; and Christian revival movements such as Pietism and Methodism. It also says deist ideas fed into liberal theology and Unitarianism. Limit: these are reasons given by historians, from a secondary summary; they show that deism lost ground, not that it was refuted. Some reasons push toward atheism, others toward revealed religion.
Türkiye as one example. On 4 March 2018, about 50 religion teachers met in Konya, organised by the İKDAM Education Association and the International Pioneer Educators Association. Their closing statement said that among young people with problems of belief, deism — "the rejection of God's intervention in life" — "is especially prominent" (İktibas). Later survey data gave a more careful picture. In Zübeyir Nişancı's Sayılarla Türkiye'de İnanç ve Dindarlık (1,942 respondents, 35 provinces), 94.3% said they believe in God; 11% of 18–24-year-olds said they do not (2% of over-65s); and 11% of 18–24-year-olds felt close to the label "deist" (4% of over-65s). Nişancı called the debate about deism spreading "in some ways artificial" (VOA Türkçe). KONDA's survey (6,137 people; reported 31 May 2025) found "believer but not religious" rising from 31% in 2008 to 34%, "religious" falling from 55% to 46%, and "atheist or non-believer" rising from 2% to 8% (Paraanaliz).
Elsewhere. In a Pew survey of US adults (December 2017), 56% believed in God "as described in the Bible", 33% in "another type of higher power or spiritual force", and about one in ten in neither; 72% of the religiously unaffiliated believed in "a higher power of some kind".
The reasoning
Why "a Creator, and nothing more" is under pressure from both sides. From the atheist side: if God never acts or speaks, what work does belief in Him do? From the theist side: the reasons that support a Creator — order, fine-tuning, the existence of minds — support a Creator who is purposeful, and purpose makes communication likely. The deist must say why the Creator cared enough to make minds, but not enough to address them. Limit: a deist can answer that a Creator's purposes may simply be beyond us — but that is close to the "skeptical theism" that believers use, and it weakens the deist's own objection to revelation.
The strongest objection, and the reply
"Calling deism unstable is just pressure." Reply: the claim here is not that deists are confused, but that the position faces questions from both directions, as above. Limit: the history of deism's decline shows social change as much as argument; it does not show that any individual deist is wrong.
"Revelations contain things a good God would not say." Reply: this is the strongest deist argument, and it has to be met case by case, as the site's pages on hard questions try to do (slavery, war, women, apostasy, Hell). Limit: some of those answers are partial, and the pages say so.
"God's hiddenness shows He does not communicate." Reply: see the replies to Schellenberg on "Why believe the Creator is involved?". The Quran presents revelation as a test that can be refused, not as overwhelming proof. Limit: the hiddenness argument remains a live debate in philosophy (SEP).
The range of views
- Muʿtazila, Imami theologians (Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Ṭūsī) — reason shows God sends prophets (luṭf) (Meghjee).
- Ashʿaris (al-Ghazali, al-Iqtiṣād) — God sends prophets freely; reason cannot oblige Him (Meghjee).
- Historians (Gay; Mossner, as summarised) — deism declined as a movement from the 1730s for several reasons, intellectual and social.
- Nişancı — much Turkish "deism" is closeness to a label rather than a settled belief.
Questions readers ask next
Is deism the same as atheism?
No. Deists believe in a Creator; atheists do not. Deists and Muslims share belief in a Creator; they differ on revelation.
Do deists usually become atheists?
No reliable data was found on what happens to individual deists over time. The surveys measure numbers at one moment, not paths.
What did the Konya teachers actually say?
That among young people with problems of belief, deism — rejecting God's intervention in life — was especially prominent, and that the most-asked question was why God stays silent before evil (İktibas, 2018).
How should I talk to a family member who is a deist?
Ask what brought them there and listen; separate questions about God from complaints about people; do not threaten. The Quran reminds the Prophet (pbuh) that compulsion is not his task (10:99).
Am I still in a relationship with God as a deist?
You believe He made you; that is already a relationship of creature to Creator. Gratitude and honest questions are ways of continuing it.
Why did English deism fade?
Historians give several reasons — naturalism, Hume's and Kant's critiques, the French Revolution, religious revival. They disagree on the weight of each.
Key verses
وَمَا قَدَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِۦٓ إِذْ قَالُوا۟ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ بَشَرٍ مِّن شَىْءٍ ۗ قُلْ مَنْ أَنزَلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ٱلَّذِى جَآءَ بِهِۦ مُوسَىٰ نُورًا وَهُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ ۖ تَجْعَلُونَهُۥ قَرَاطِيسَ تُبْدُونَهَا وَتُخْفُونَ كَثِيرًا ۖ وَعُلِّمْتُم مَّا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنتُمْ وَلَآ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ ۖ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ ۖ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِى خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ٩١
Transliteration: wamā qadarū l-laha ḥaqqa qadrihi idh qālū mā anzala l-lahu ʿalā basharin min shayin qul man anzala l-kitāba alladhī jāa bihi mūsā nūran wahudan lilnnāsi tajʿalūnahu qarāṭīsa tub'dūnahā watukh'fūna kathīran waʿullim'tum mā lam taʿlamū antum walā ābāukum quli l-lahu thumma dharhum fī khawḍihim yalʿabūna
And they did not appraise Allah with true appraisal when they said, "Allah did not reveal to a human being anything." Say, "Who revealed the Scripture that Moses brought as light and guidance to the people? You [Jews] make it into pages, disclosing [some of] it and concealing much. And you were taught that which you knew not - neither you nor your fathers." Say, "Allah [revealed it]." Then leave them in their [empty] discourse, amusing themselves.
Translation: Saheeh International
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If you asked them, "Who created the heavens and earth and subjected the sun and the moon?" they would surely say, "Allah." Then how are they deluded? Allah extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts for him. Indeed Allah is, of all things, Knowing. And if you asked them, "Who sends down rain from the sky and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness?" they would surely say " Allah." Say, "Praise to Allah "; but most of them do not reason. 29:61–63
Arabic text and transliteration
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ ٱللَّهُ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ وَيَقْدِرُ لَهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّن نَّزَّلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَحْيَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُ ۚ قُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
wala-in sa-altahum man khalaqa l-samāwāti wal-arḍa wasakhara l-shamsa wal-qamara layaqūlunna l-lahu fa-annā yu'fakūna · al-lahu yabsuṭu l-riz'qa liman yashāu min ʿibādihi wayaqdiru lahu inna l-laha bikulli shayin ʿalīmun · wala-in sa-altahum man nazzala mina l-samāi māan fa-aḥyā bihi l-arḍa min baʿdi mawtihā layaqūlunna l-lahu quli l-ḥamdu lillahi bal aktharuhum lā yaʿqilūna
Sources
- Saheeh International via the site's Tanzil data — 6:91, 29:61, 29:63.
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (abridged English), on 6:91, https://quran.com/6:91/tafsirs/en-tafisr-ibn-kathir.
- "Deism", Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Deism — definition; Herbert of Cherbury's five religious ideas; Toland, Tindal, Shaftesbury, Leland; the period 1689–1742; Germany.
- "Deism", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism — used only for dates of works and for the reasons for decline it attributes to Peter Gay (1968) and to E. C. Mossner's Encyclopedia of Philosophy article (secondary).
- Sadiq Meghjee, "A Brief Study of the Principle of Lutf", iqraonline.net.
- İktibas, "Gençlik ve İnanç Çalıştayı Sonuç Bildirgesi" (2018).
- VOA Türkçe on Nişancı, Sayılarla Türkiye'de İnanç ve Dindarlık.
- Paraanaliz, "KONDA Araştırması: Türkiye'de Dindarlık Geriliyor, İnançsızlık Artıyor" (31 May 2025), https://paraanaliz.com/haberler/konda-arastirmasi-turkiyede-dindarlik-geriliyor-inancsizlik-artiyor.
- Pew Research Center, "Key findings about Americans' belief in God" (2018).
- Green and Howard-Snyder, "Hiddenness of God", SEP (2022).
- KONDA 2025 (Tr.)
- Bianet (2018, Tr.)
- Diyanet Aylık Dergi 2018 (Tr.)
- Ekici (Tr.)
- Aimmah et al. (2025, Indon.)