The area that most separates Deism from other belief systems is a belief that man’s relationship with God is impersonal and abstract. For many religions, the relationship with God is viewed as one that is personal in that God wants to know each of us as individuals and communicates directly with mankind. Many Theists view an impersonal God as one that is pointless but for the Deist the opposite is true. This impersonal and abstract God does not just have a relationship with humanity but with all of nature (creation) and man is a part of it. This means that God is not like a parent but is much grander in scope than can possibly be imagined which creates a sense of awe and reverence. This is evidenced by how Deists have a calling to nature and study of the universe.

One of the most frequent questions asked of Deists is, without a God that creates absolute moral law, how can man be a moral being? Essentially, Deists answer this in two parts. The first is that humans have the ability to use Reason to develop and create ethical and moral principles. The second is that through the application of Reason, these principles can be used to implement and institute moral behavior. This creates a Utilitarian/Humanist morality that respects the dignity and self-worth of the individual but maintains that this must be reciprocal in nature so that moral behavior is instituted. For many Deists, there is the belief that man is born with innate bio-moral and bio-ethical principles that can be implemented. In fact, many Deists live by one of the most ancient moral principles that has existed since man began to record his beliefs, the Golden Rule.

Since Deism is specifically correlated with rationalism, there is the erroneous belief among many that spirituality does not exist among adherents. However, this is untrue, as spirituality is a major component of Deism. There are many religions that believe that spirituality is attained simply by believing in the proper doctrines. The opposite is true in Deism. Spirituality is about the ability to experience God and it is a multi-faceted experience that can be accomplished in numerous ways by the individual with the primary ways being awe, epiphany, fellowship, communion and the transcendental. These spiritual experiences are beyond description and allow the individual to have unique and profound experiences of God and nature.

Individualism and independence are of primary concern to Deists. This is especially true as evidenced by the many ways that God is honored. Deists do not worship God as much as they honor God. They may do this many different ways. Some like to meet and discuss philosophy, science and religion. Others may pray to thank God for the life they have had while others may meditate. The goal is to honor the God for which the Deist feels a connection with. It is important to understand this aspect, as it is an area that truly separates Deism from other belief systems. Essentially, honoring God is done in many different ways and is up to the individual to decide what works best for them.