A scientist and science broadcaster recently said on the radio that although he wasn’t a religious believer, he thought of himself as an accommodationist. He went on to explain that he is content to accommodate the views of others running counter to his own. He’s not, in other words an atheist fundamentalist for whom any taint of belief is heresy.
This is refreshing in a world where far too often people are publicly derided, persecuted and even executed for daring to even mildly challenge orthodoxy. Even in societies professing to be liberal there is a simmering intolerance.
Making the effort to try and at least appreciate contrary views appears to be too great for many. Those so committed to their religion they perceive any disagreement as a defiance of God and the truth are mirrored by atheists who absolutely insist that God is a deception perpetrated by the self-deluded or outright liars.
Even when such standpoints are not openly elucidated, those utterly convinced by their own viewpoints are unable to tolerate seriously any contradiction.
Deism, however, accepts nothing as being certain. Even the existence of God or what “God” means is up for debate. Reason that brings the deist to the conclusion that there is something way beyond human comprehension that can be referred to as God or Deus, recognises this cannot be a settled issue.
Indeed, it is possible that Deism is a staging post to a view transcending both religion and irreligion. After all it’s beyond possibility that Deism is the final word in this sphere. Deists must be open to questioning and committed to questioning. It is a religious and philosophical accommodation with many rooms.
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