Typology of Deism in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Based on Samuel Clark's Classification

Deism is a philosophical and theological view of God, man, and religion. This article is an attempt to conceptually analyze deism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, through etymology and analytical- descriptive method and seeks to provide a general classification of deism using the Clark classification. The encyclopedic definition of deism is ambiguous and the etymological dictionaries show that in the transformation of the word Deus to Deism, the etymological nuances of this word have not been taken into consideration. In contrast, with Clark's typology, one can better understand the distinction of deism from theism and the different forms of this thinking. Clarke's fourfold classification, as the first comprehensive account of deism, claims that from the first to the fourth type of deism, the affinity and similarity to Christianity gradually increases from the minimum to the maximum. The first type denies the providence of God, while believing in His unity, creation, and knowledge. The second type, while believing in the propositions of the first type of deism, considers physical laws as divine providence, but denies the inclusion of providence over moral laws. According to the third type, God’s all-governing providence is related to the moral perfections of God, and God governs this world with the attributes of justice, goodness and righteousness. The fourth type, in addition to the above teachings, also accepts the immortality and doctrine of reward and punishment. According to Clark, all the four (modern) types of deists do not believe in any Christian revelation. The concept and belief in divine revelation is one of the main difference between deism and revealed religions.