{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.deism","code":"thing-q620629","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q620629/","name":"deism","alternateNames":["Cult of the Supreme Being","ceremonial deism","Christian deism","Higher Power","occasionalism"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ORG"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A religious philosophy holding that a creator God exists and can be known through reason and observation of nature, but does not intervene in the world through revelation or miracles; deism flourished among Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, France and America, influenced founding figures and documents, and appears today in forms including Christian deism; ceremonial deism recognised in United States law and the non-specific Higher Power of recovery programmes are distinct concepts that do not necessarily express deist belief.","purpose":"Let an agent explain deism as a philosophy and historical movement with attribution, distinguish it from theism, atheism and pantheism, relay its history and key figures, and describe related concepts such as ceremonial deism and the Cult of the Supreme Being neutrally.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Natural religion by reason","Rejection of revelation and miracles","Enlightenment associations","Diverse modern forms"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"What deism is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and distinctions.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is deism, and how does it differ from theism, pantheism and atheism?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about deism, ceremonial deism or a related concept?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"variants","name":"Variants","description":"Variants.","findings":[{"id":"variants-finding","name":"Variants","description":"Variants.","questions":[{"text":"What variants of deism exist, historically and today?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific variant?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History and figures.","layers":[{"id":"enlightenment","name":"Enlightenment","description":"Enlightenment deism.","findings":[{"id":"enlightenment-finding","name":"Enlightenment","description":"Enlightenment.","questions":[{"text":"Who were the main deist thinkers, and what did they argue, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific thinker?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"founders","name":"Founders","description":"Deism and political founders.","findings":[{"id":"founders-finding","name":"Founders","description":"Founders.","questions":[{"text":"How do historians assess the deism of figures such as Jefferson, Franklin and Paine, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation attributed and neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"related","name":"Related","description":"Related concepts.","layers":[{"id":"ceremonial","name":"Ceremonial","description":"Ceremonial deism.","findings":[{"id":"ceremonial-finding","name":"Ceremonial","description":"Ceremonial.","questions":[{"text":"What is ceremonial deism in United States law, and how have courts used it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits establishment clause?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"cult","name":"Cult","description":"Cult of the Supreme Being.","findings":[{"id":"cult-finding","name":"Cult","description":"Cult.","questions":[{"text":"What was the Cult of the Supreme Being, and how do historians interpret it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"today","name":"Today","description":"Deism today.","layers":[{"id":"modern","name":"Modern","description":"Modern deism.","findings":[{"id":"modern-finding","name":"Modern","description":"Modern.","questions":[{"text":"How is deism organised and expressed today, and how many identify with it, with sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"philosophy","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophical debate.","findings":[{"id":"philosophy-finding","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophy.","questions":[{"text":"What arguments for and against deism do philosophers make, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the beliefs of deism and its history, citing sources.","Distinguish deism from theism, atheism and pantheism.","Note where a historical figure's deism is disputed."],"mustNot":["Label a historical figure a deist without evidence from their own writings.","Present contested attributions as fact.","Conflate deism with atheism or with conventional theism.","Mock the beliefs of deists or others."],"requiresHuman":["Stating a living person's religious beliefs in published material."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Religious labels applied to founders are used in political debates; accuracy matters.","Beliefs deserve respectful description, whatever the writer's own view."],"affectedParties":["Believers","Historians","Readers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a religious philosophy held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q9174","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"religion","type":"related","note":"in registry terms, a religious philosophy"},{"target":"theism","type":"related","note":"which accepts revelation"},{"target":"natural theology","type":"related","note":"its method"},{"target":"Enlightenment","type":"related","note":"thought and politics"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.deism","Wikidata: Q620629 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q620629)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["flourished: about 1650-1800 years - Enlightenment era"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Creator God known by reason, no revelation or intervention","Enlightenment origin, modern variants","Theism accepts revelation; pantheism identifies God with nature; atheism denies God","Not a visible object; a position held in writings and, historically, in some organised cults."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the philosophy and its variants","distinguish from related positions","relay history and figures with attribution","describe related legal and cultural uses"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Overstating deism among historical figures","Conflating deism with atheism or theism","Presenting contested attributions as fact"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; freedom of religion protections","Ceremonial deism as a doctrine in United States establishment clause cases"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a religious philosophy.","classical Enlightenment deism","Christian deism","the Cult of the Supreme Being of the French Revolution","modern and organised deism","ceremonial deism as a legal concept","the Higher Power concept in recovery programmes, a related non-specific idea","occasionalism, a distinct philosophical doctrine listed as an alias"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q620629: deism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q620629","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Deism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should ceremonial deism and the Cult of the Supreme Being be separate entries?","How should primary texts be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming distinct doctrines; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q620629/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q620629/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T22:24:12Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}