An Account of the Growth of Deism in England

The work opens as a thoughtful letter between two friends, set in the late eighteenth century, where the writer reflects on a recent conversation about the surprising spread of Deism across England. He stresses his confidence in the gospel’s truth while puzzling over why a doctrine that rejects revealed religion could gain footholds amid a culture saturated with biblical texts and learned treatises. His aim is to catalogue the reasons people abandon revelation in favor of pure reason.

Drawing on observations from city winters and country summers, he classifies early deists into two groups: those of loose, indulgent habits who dismiss miracles with a flippant wit, and more sober, respectable individuals whose doubts stem from philosophical reading and travel abroad. He sketches how foreign tutors warned young English gentlemen against Catholic superstition, planting seeds of skepticism that later blossomed into a broader, rationalist critique of established faith.