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This philosophy became popular in England during the seventeeth and eighteenth centuries, and some of the founding fathers of the U.S. were self-described deists. [[Thomas Paine]] espoused deism and popularized the term in his book [[The Age of Reason]]. [[Benjamin Franklin]] wrote in his autobiography,

This philosophy became popular in England during the seventeeth and eighteenth centuries, and some of the founding fathers of the U.S. were self-described deists. [[Thomas Paine]] espoused deism and popularized the term in his book [[The Age of Reason]]. [[Benjamin Franklin]] wrote in his autobiography,

:Some books against Deism fell into my hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's Lectures. It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist.

:Some books against Deism fell into my hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's Lectures. It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist.

[[Thomas Jefferson]] did not label himself as a deist, but he rejected the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus and certainly was not an orthodox Christian. Jefferson produced an edited version of the Gospels, later known as the [[Jefferson Bible]], which contained only the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus and omitted third-person accounts of his life, and particularly, the miraculous events.

[[Thomas Jefferson]] did not label himself as a deist, but he rejected the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus and certainly was not an orthodox Christian. Jefferson produced an edited version of the Gospels, later known as the [[Jefferson Bible]], which contained only the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus and omitted third-person accounts of his life, particularly the accounts of the miracles.