Introduction
At present, there is a large number of religions, philosophies, and beliefs that constitute the people’s worldviews. In general, the worldview is a complicated system that includes the individual’s understanding of their origin, identity, place in the world, and society (Brandt & Crawford, 2020). James Sire (2004) explains the worldview as a pre-determined set of assumptions about how the universe and reality should work and discusses several philosophical and religious approaches concerning this aspect. Theism, naturalism, deism, nihilism, and other philosophies have distinguished perspectives on the matter of reality, God, and human beings. The current paper attempts to compare Christianity and deism and answer the fundamental questions of worldview perception.
Definition
However, it is essential to provide a brief description of both Christianity and deism before comparing the two worldviews. Christianity has been one of the central religions for the past two thousand years and has approximately two and a half billion followers at present (Countrymeters, 2021). Furthermore, Christianity acts as a moral compass and a set of worldview beliefs for many people based on religious commitment (van der Walt, 2017). Nevertheless, various branches of religion might have different worldviews. For instance, baptism – a highly prominent branch of Christianity in America – has different views on eschatology and Bible interpretation from the Orthodox church.
On the other hand, deism is a much less notable philosophical approach to understanding the origin and mechanism of the world. In general, deism refers to a philosophical doctrine of religious expression, which states that God had indeed created the world, but God does not interfere in the affairs of humans (Manuel, 2021). This approach was highly prominent among the English philosophers of the 18th century, such as Thomas Hobbes, Matthew Tindal, and Charles Blount (Manuel, 2021). While deism is mostly a philosophical tradition, many experts treat it as a religious doctrine due to the vast emphasis on God and the worldview based on the divine creation (Manuel, 2021). As a result, deists believe that there is a divine origin in every individual; however, they reject the idea of religious teachings, church, and revelation.
Worldview Differences
The primary difference between Christianity and Deism is their fundamental origin and rationale behind the concepts. Christianity is a religion, which according to the definition, emphasizes sacred traditions, religious practices, and worshipping. On the other hand, deism is a philosophical tradition that does not reject the existence of God but attempts to reveal the realities of the world by empirical methods (Manuel, 2021). Therefore, the worldviews of the two approaches differ drastically, particularly, concerning God’s interference in the lives of ordinary people. Both Orthodox Christians and Baptists acknowledge the crucial role of God in their lives and adjust their behavior according to the religious customs and Bible messages (van der Walt, 2017). Traditions are essential in the Christian worldview and dictate what is right and what is wrong according to the sacred doctrines (van der Walt, 2017). Christians believe that their lives are connected with the divine origin, and, therefore, the reality is interconnected with the existence of God.
On the other hand, deists acknowledge the sacred origin in people but reject the divine intervention in their lives. From these considerations, God does not engage with the individuals, and, therefore, is not the crucial constituent of reality. Consequently, according to deists, if God does not interfere, then it is not necessary to address the divine origin to explain the external world (Manuel, 2021). In this sense, the external world refers to everything surrounding humans, including nature, the universe, and things made by man. Therefore, deists state that it is possible to comprehend the existing reality by utilizing empirical methods and not referring to God.
Worldview Similarities
Nevertheless, Christianity and deism have a surprising number of similarities in their understanding of God and internal reality. Both approaches transparently indicate that God exists, and he/she had created the universe and designed the mechanism of the world (Hall, 2021). In this sense, Christianity and deism are theistic doctrines that acknowledge the existence of a divine being, and, thus, are similar concerning internal reality (Hall, 2021). Unlike the external world, internal reality concerns the following issues: innate nature of humans, what happens after death, what is the meaning of life, etc. (Sire, 2004). Deists cannot answer these questions based on empirical methods and assume that the internal reality is associated with the divine origin (Hall, 2021). Ultimately, while Christians and deists have opposing views on the external reality and God’s interference in the lives of ordinary people, they have similar perspectives on the world’s creation and innate nature.
Conclusion
Summing up, the current paper has analyzed the primary differences and similarities between Christianity and deism in their perspectives of the worldview. Both approaches acknowledge the existence of God and his/her role in establishing the working mechanism of the world; however, the primary means of understanding the reality differ between the two traditions. The followers of Christianity believe in the omnipresence of God and his/her interference in their lives, while deists reject the idea of divine intervention. As a result, while Christians and deists have similar perspectives on the world’s creation, they have opposing worldviews on God’s role in their daily lives.
References
Brandt, M. J., & Crawford, J. T. (2020). Worldview conflict and prejudice. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 61, 1-66. Web.
Countrymeters. (2021). World population. Web.
Hall, R. (2021). Compassionate deism and the grammar of permission. Religions, 12(200), 1-9. Web.
Manuel, F. E. (2021). Deism. Web.
Sire, J. (2004). The universe next door: A basic worldview catalog (4th edition). InterVarsity Press.
Van der Walt, B. J. (2017). Sharing an integral Christian worldview with a younger generation: Why and how should it be done and received? In die Skriflig, 51(1). Web.