Deism

Deism is a religious philosophy that ascribes to a "God-as-Watchmaker" type theory. Deists believe that God did, in fact, have a hand in creating the earth and human beings. However, once God was done with creating the earth and getting humans off to a right start, he left the earth behind, such as a watchmaker will leave behind a watch that he has finished constructing and knows for certain that it works.

Deists acknowledge the presence of a Supreme Being, and the possible presence of an afterlife. However, at the same time, deists believe that God has no hand in current affairs on Earth, and has left everything up to human machinations. Many of the Founding Fathers ascribed to deism, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.