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Deists believe in "God," a "supreme being" or a "first cause" but base their belief on personal reason alone, without resort to faith, revelation, or dogma. There is a strong tradition among Deists since the 17th century of writings emphasizing the wonder of the natural world itself, such that the hand of the Divine is evident. Deists elevate the western empirical tradition, believing what truth we can know is determined by reason alone. The tract that most popularized Deism was Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason," which articulated and summarized the Englightenment's objections to Christianity and argued for a new religious tradition based on reason.
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