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Deism on the rise in America?

September 24, 2009 by Eric Johnson Posted in: Jefferson Today

In an article on Beliefnet, Steven Waldman, author of Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to Religious Liberty, reports on a new study that "reveals that a rapidly growing number of Americans hold the belief system that used to be described as Deism." The study, done by researchers at Trinity College, analyzes the rise of "Nones," Americans who report no religious affiliation. Strikingly, however, 51% of those people do report a belief in God and 24% specifically say they believe in "a higher power but no personal God," which Waldman classifies as a kind of Deism.