Editing Deism (section)

===David Hume===
[[File:David Hume Ramsay.jpg |thumb|upright|[[David Hume]]]]
Views differ on whether [[David Hume]] was a Deist, an [[Atheism|atheist]], or something else.<ref>Hume himself was uncomfortable with both terms, and Hume scholar [[Paul Russell (philosopher)|Paul Russell]] has argued that the best and safest term for Hume's views is ''[[irreligion]]''.
{{cite encyclopedia
    |url=                  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/
    |title=                Hume on Religion
    |encyclopedia= Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    |year=               2005
    |first=                Paul
    |last=                 Russell
    |author-link=      Paul Russell (philosopher)
    |access-date=     2009-12-17
}}</ref> Like the Deists, Hume rejected revelation, and his famous essay ''On Miracles'' provided a powerful argument against belief in miracles. On the other hand, he did not believe that an appeal to Reason could provide any justification for religion. In the essay ''[[Four Dissertations#The Natural History of Religion|Natural History of Religion]]'' (1757), he contended that [[polytheism]], not [[monotheism]], was "the first and most ancient religion of mankind" and that the [[Psychology of religion|psychological basis of religion]] is not reason, but [[fear]] of the unknown.<ref>{{Cite book
    | last=             Hume
    | first=            David
    | author-link=  David Hume
    | title=            The Natural History of Religion
    | year=            1779
}} “The primary religion of mankind arises chiefly from an anxious fear of future events; and what ideas will naturally be entertained of invisible, unknown powers, while men lie under dismal apprehensions of any kind, may easily be conceived. Every image of vengeance, severity, cruelty, and malice must occur, and must augment the ghastliness and horror which oppresses the amazed religionist. .. And no idea of perverse wickedness can be framed, which those terrified devotees do not readily, without scruple, apply to their deity.” (Section XIII)
</ref> In Waring's words: {{blockquote|The clear reasonableness of natural religion disappeared before a semi-historical look at what can be known about uncivilized man— "a barbarous, necessitous animal," as Hume termed him. Natural religion, if by that term one means the actual religious beliefs and practices of uncivilized peoples, was seen to be a fabric of superstitions. Primitive man was no unspoiled philosopher, clearly seeing the truth of one God. And the history of religion was not, as the deists had implied, retrograde; the widespread phenomenon of superstition was caused less by priestly malice than by man's unreason as he confronted his experience.<ref>{{cite book
    | last=Waring
    | title=(see above)
}}</ref>}}