Deism and Liberal Protestantism....................................................

Lecture 29

We’ll start in the 18th century with the most interesting new development

in 18th-century religion, which is Deism. But, let’s say a little bit about

the 18th century, the era of what is called “the Enlightenment”—hostile

to religion in many ways, but you can understand why.

T

he 18th century was a period of ongoing intellectual crisis for
Christianity. Religious wars in the 17th century made religious zeal
look fanatical and dangerous. State churches, their paid ministers,
and enforcement of the authority of dogma were seen as the source of
intolerance and religious warfare. The conÀ icting diversity of religions
made Christian doctrine seem far less certain than the rising modern
sciences. Theology, which had been the most prestigious of the university
disciplines, came to seem increasingly arcane, consisting of obscure dogmas
and incomprehensible mysteries without rational basis. Modern physics
since Newton presented a view of nature which seemed to leave no room for
divine intervention (that is, “the supernatural”).

Various movements within the broad intellectual trend called “the
Enlightenment” were critical of orthodox Christianity. For the ¿ rst time,
atheism and the explicit rejection of religion become a cultural force
Christian theologians had to reckon with. Anti-trinitarianism and other
forms of Unitarianism spread, the leading edge of a widespread rejection
of orthodox Christian dogma. Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire adapted
Protestant criticisms of Papist superstition and priest craft into criticisms of
Christianity itself. Whereas the established churches were oppressive, the
more experiential forms of Christianity indebted to Pietism and Revivalism
were regarded as fanatical and enthusiastic. The authority of religious
tradition, including both theology and scripture, came to be regarded with
deep suspicion as a form of irrationality and oppression.

Enlightenment thinkers used the distinction between natural and revealed
religion to understand the diversity of religions, especially Christianity.
“Revealed religion” meant any religion based on a purported revelation from