Below are some of the major German deists. Each entry includes a little about the person and his deist ideas, and some entries have a link to a good introduction to his deist ideas.
Anonymous (fl. 1782) wrote the pamphlet Politisch-moralisches Glaubensbekenntniß eines Bürgers, aus dem neunzehnten Jahrhundert (Wyer, 1782). The best introduction to this author’s deist ideas are pages 3-4 of this pamphlet.
Anonymous (fl. 1789) wrote the pamphlet Glaubensbekenntniß eines Deisten in einem vertrauten Briefe an * [sic] (Berlin, 1789).
Anonymous (fl. 1754) wrote the pamphlet Beweis eines Materialisten: von der Wahrheit der Christlichen Religion(Berlin, 1754). He accepted Jesus’ teachings as reported in the Bible but rejected many traditional Christian teachings. Pages 9-30 of this pamphlet are a good introduction to his Jesus-centered deism.
Anonymous (fl. 1789) wrote the pamphlet Glaubensbekenntniß eines Deisten in einem vertrauten Briefe an * [sic] (Berlin, 1789). He thought Jesus’ moral teachings were the best of any person in history, but the anonymous author did not think Jesus worked any miracles. A good summary of his Jesus-centered deism is pages 9-35 of this pamphlet.
Carl Friedrich Bahrdt (1741-1792) was Germany’s most notorious deist. He revered Jesus and often prayed but thought Jesus was a member of a secret society that helped him fake his miracles. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his Die sämtlichen Reden Jesu . . . Jesu, vol. 2 (Berlin, 1787), iii-36.
Ambrosius Bethmann Bernhardi (1756-1801) was a teacher and writer who espoused Kantian ideas. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his Gemeinfassliche Darstellung der Kantischen Lehren über Sittlichkeit, Freyheit, Gottheit und Unsterblichkeit (Freyburg, 1796), 470-482 & 574-598.
Franz Theodor Biergans (1768-1847) was a former priest who became a French Revolutionary and wrote the periodical Brutus. He thought Jesus was the most eminent of the philosophers. Biergans also maintained that Jesus taught only the moral principles of natural religion and that the Old Testament had no relationship with genuine Christianity. The best introduction to his deist ideas is Brutus oder Der Tyrannenfeind, vol. 1 (n. p., 1793-4), 142-7, 101-2, 135-6, 229-238.
Christian Tobias Damm (1699-1778) was the German rector of the well-known Köllnische Gymnasium in Berlin as well as being a celebrated Greek scholar. He thought the Bible was the best collection of godly writings, but it, especially the Old Testament, was far from an accurate account of God’s activities in the world. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his book Betrachtungen über die Religion, Part 3-4 (Berlin, 1773), 153-169.
Johann Christian Edelmann (1698-1767) was a German writer who closely studied the ideas of Spinoza. A good introduction to Edelmann’s religious ideas is Henning Graf Reventlow, History of Biblical Interpretation, vol. 4, trans. Leo G. Perdue (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2010), 144-55.
Schack Hermann Ewald (1745-1822) was a writer, editor, government official, and translator. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his book Natürliche Religion nach Ursprung, Beschaffenheit und Schicksalen (Berlin, 1784), especially pages 58-69, 128-9, & 178-189.
Franz Hebenstreit (1747-1795) was a leading Vienna Jacobin who was hanged for treason in 1795. The best introduction to his deist ideas is Franz Josef Schuh and Franz Hebenstreit, Franz Hebenstreit: 1747-1795; Mensch unter Menschen (Trier, 1974), 25-31, 39-43, 61-5.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was Germany’s greatest philosopher. A good introduction to his ideas on religion can be found in the appendix labeled “The conflict between the theology and philosophy faculties” in The Conflict of the Faculties. This and other writings on religion can be found in Immanuel Kant, Religion and Rational Theology, trans. and ed. By Allen W. Wood and George Di Giovanni (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
Georg Klarmann (1761-1840) was a Benedictine monk who left the priesthood and became a leader in establishing the German city of Mainz as a republic during the time of the French Revolution. His deist ideas were espoused in the revolutionary newspaper Argos, 1793, 3:572-6, & 4:9-12.
Karl Von Knoblauch (1756-1794) was a government official and writer. The best introduction to his deist ideas is Die Nachtwachen des Einsiedlers zu Athos (n. p., 1790), 23-50.
Julius Friedrich Knüppeln (1757-1840) was a German editor and writer. He thought Christianity was the best religion but rejected the Old Testament. A good introduction to his deist ideas is his Philosophische Skizze von Berlin, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1788), 156-76.
Friedrich Lehne (1771-1836) was a poet and journalist who was a major supporter of the Jacobin Republic in Mainz. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his “Rede am Feste des höchsten Wesens” and “Glaubensbekenntniss” in Friedrich Lehne, Gesammelte Schriften, ed. Dr. Ph. H. Külb, vol. 5 (Mainz, 1839), 245-55 & 351-3.
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) was a famous German playwright and philosopher. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his “Commentary on the ‘Fragments’ of Reimarus,” in his Philosophical and Theological Writings, trans. and ed. H. B. Nisbet (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 61-82.
M. E. (fl. 1794) was an unknown author who wrote about religion and God during the French Revolution for the newspaper Argos. He thought Jesus’ original teachings were the same as the principles behind the French Revolution. The best introduction to his ideas is Argos, oder der Mann mit hundert Augen [Argos, or the Man with a Hundred Eyes], ed. J. F. Butenschön, vol. 4 (n. p., 1794), 365-7, 499-506, 531-4, 303-4, & 257-60.
Andreas Moser (1766-1806) was a German school teacher and writer. The best expression of his deist ideas is his Gesunder Menschenverstand über die Kunst Völker zu beglücken, 2nd ed. (n. p., 1807), 48-73.
Johann Pezzl (1756-1823) was an Austrian writer and government official. A good introduction to his deist ideas is his Marokkanische Briefe: Aus dem Arabischen (Frankfurt, 1784), 63-96.
Joachim Gerhard Ram (d. 1688) was a student at Wittenberg who committed suicide. He left behind, in Latin, a very short statement of his religious thoughts. This statement is included in Gottfried Arnold, Gottfrid [sic] Arnold’s Unparteyische Kirchen und Ketzer Historie (Frankfurt am Mayn, 1700), 2:579.
Andreas Reim (1749-1814) was a German preacher for a number of years before he worked as an editor, writer, and publisher. He said that Jesus’ pure teachings were the best religion ever. He also rejected the whole Old Testament and thought that both Moses and Jesus never did any miracles. The best introduction to his Jesus-centered deism is Das reinere Christenthum oder die Religion der Kinder des Lichts (Berlin, 1789), 1-33.
Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694-1768) was a German professor of theology. After he died, Lessing published some of his private writings that were very critical of Christianity. An introduction to his deist ideas is any of his Fragmentsthat Lessing published in the 1770s.
S. E. A. P. (fl. 1793) was the anonymous author of a short piece defending deism in Franz Theodor Biergans’ periodical Brutus oder Der Tyrannenfeind, 2 vols. (n. p., 1793-4), 1:192-8.
Friedrich Heinrich Emil Schnaar (1755-1833) was an editor and professor of philosophy at Rinteln, Germany. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his article, “Was ist Natur, Bibel und Jesus?” Der Genius der Zeit 1 (Jan-April 1794): 267-78.
Eulogius Schneider (1756-1794) was a former Franciscan monk who quit the priesthood and became an important Jacobin revolutionary in Strasbourg. The best introduction to his deist ideas is a very short summary of a speech he gave at the Temple of Reason in Strasbourg. This speech is in footnote 1 of page 110 of F. C. Heitz, Notes sur la vie et les écrits d’Euloge Schneider (Strasbourg, 1862).
Johann Heinrich Schulz (1739-1823) was a Lutheran minister who lost his position because he embraced deist ideas. The best introduction to his deist ideas is Philosophische Betrachtung über Theologie und Religion . . . insonderheit, 2nd ed. (Frankfurt, 1786), 65-89, & 163-7.
Karl Franz Schwind (1764-1848) was a former Catholic priest and professor of theology at the University at Strasburg. He thought the Old Testament presented a childish view of God, but he believed Jesus was born of a virgin. The best introduction to his deist ideas is the first 20 pages of his book Ueber die ältesten heiligen Semitischen Denkmäler: Eine Abhandlung unsrer [sic] theologischen Routine entgegen (Strasburg, 1792).
Johann Gottfried Seume (1763-1810) was a writer, teacher, and soldier. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his Kurzes Pflichten-und Sittenbuch für Landleute in J. G. Seume’s sämmtliche Werke, vol. 12 (Leipzig, 1827), 5-19, and Inge Stephan, Johann Gottfried Seume: Ein politischer Schriftsteller der deutschen Spätaukflärung (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1973), 56-68.
Christian Sommer (1757-1835) was a lawyer and editor who worked to set up a democratic republic in Cologne, Germany during the time of the French Revolution. The best introduction to his deist ideas is his Grundlage zu einem vollkommen Staat (Köln am Rhein, 1802), 97-129.
Johann Gottlieb Karl Spazier (1761-1805) was an editor, philosophy professor, and composer of several popular songs. The best introduction to his deist ideas is Johann Gottlieb Karl Spazier, Das Theater der Religionen, oder Apologie des Heidenthums (Athens [=Leipzig], 1791), 261-3.
T. (fl. 1793) was the anonymous author of a short essay in Franz Theodor Biergans’ periodical Brutus oder Der Tyrannenfeind, vol. 2 (n. p., 1793-4), 81-92. In this short essay, T. denigrated priestly religion and said Jesus taught only simple virtues.
Heinrich Wür(t)zer (1751-1835) was a German teacher, writer, and editor. Würzer’s deist ideas can be found in Der Patriotische Volksredner, vol. 1 (Altona, 1796), 33-6.
Franz Heinrich Ziegenhagen (1753-1806) was a wealthy businessman who set up a school for children. He wrote a hymn to God which he commissioned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to set to music, and is now known as Eine kleine deutsche Kantate (K619). Ziegenhagen’s deist ideas are spread throughout his Lehre vom richtigen Verhältniss zu den Schöpfungswerken (n. p., 1799).
Johann Christian Zwanzinger (1723-1808) was a professor of mathematics and philosophy at the University of Leipzig. He wrote several commentaries on Kant’s philosophy. An introduction to his ideas is his Die Religion des Philosophen und sein Glaubensbekenntniss (Dresden, 1799), 1-26.
There are a decent number of unorthodox German thinkers who are most likely deists but I did not have enough time to do the research to be sure they were. These thinkers include Johann Benjamin Erhard, Ludwig Heinrich von Jakob, Johann Christian Lossius, Johann Gebhard Ehrenreich Maass, Wilhelm Ludwig Wekhrlin, Saul Ascher, Lazarus Bendavid, August Friedrich Cranz, David Friedländer, and Salomon Maimon.
Enlightenment Deism 