Enlightenment and Modernity: The English Deists and Reform (The Enlightenment World)

The writers known as the English deists were not simply religious controversialists, but agents of reform who contributed to the emergence of modernity. This title claims that these writers advocated a failed ideology which itself declined after 1730. It argues for an evolution of their ideas into a more modern form. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1 Deism, Enlightenment and Modernity Part I: Problematizing Revealed Religion 2 Christianity Challenged 3 Two Clerical Critics 4 The Diffusion of Disbelief Part II: Agents of Reform 5 ‘Philosophy’ and Reform 6 ‘Religion’ and Modernity Conclusion Appendix: Shaftesbury and Bolingbroke Notes Works Cited Index In this book, old, accepted ideas about the English deists are challenged and overturned. The author provides a contemporary reinterpretation of the English deists and raises important methodological questions about the way we view and study the Enlightenment