Taoism vs. Deism - differences

[phantom]

Major differences between Taoism and Deism, aside from geographical origin?

I indulge in both ideas, Taoism seems more interconnected, whereas Deism merely awknowledges.

is that all?

 

[anders]

The major difference is that Taoism is a religion. It is basically atheistic; there is no personal god, to whom you for example can pray. The Tao/Dao/Way is more like a principle or a natural law. (But later forms of Taoism invented gods.)

Deism refers to those philosphies/religions in which you believe in some kind of Divine Being, but repudiate revelation and religious dogma.

 

[Yoshieslunchbox]

I would say too that Deists tend not to believe in a personal God for the most part - one that pulls the marionette strings of human beings or writes the outcome of history. Even so, it is probably a more defined God than Taoism references in most instances (there is wiggle room). You can't entirely count out geographic origins either. Different motivations at different times in different subsets of people may produce religious ideas that seem similar, but have drastically different understandings about God. Deism was largely the product of Enlightenment-era philosophy's love of reason and scientific progress. That's almost certainly not the motivation behind the origins of Taoism.