Thisisthenthesubjectonwhichitismostimportantforeachofustoentertainfixedideas;andunhappilyitisalsothesubjectonwhichitismostdifficultforeachofus，lefttohimself，tosettlehisopinionsbythesoleforceofhisreason。
Nonebutmindssingularlyfreefromtheordinaryanxietiesoflife—mindsatoncepenetrating，subtle，andtrainedbythinking—canevenwiththeassistanceofmuchtimeandcare，soundthedepthofthesemostnecessarytruths。And，indeed，weseethatthesephilosophersarethemselvesalmostalwaysenshroudedinuncertainties;thatateverystepthenaturallightwhichilluminatestheirpathgrowsdimmerandlesssecure;andthat，inspiteofalltheirefforts，theyhaveasyetonlydiscoveredasmallnumberofconflictingnotions，onwhichthemindofmanhasbeentossedaboutforthousandsofyears，withouteitherlayingafirmergraspontruth，orfindingnoveltyeveninitserrors。
Studiesofthisnaturearefarabovetheaveragecapacityofmen;
andevenifthemajorityofmankindwerecapableofsuchpursuits，itisevidentthatleisuretocultivatethemwouldstillbewanting。FixedideasofGodandhumannatureareindispensabletothedailypracticeofmen’slives;butthepracticeoftheirlivespreventsthemfromacquiringsuchideas。
Thedifficultyappearstometobewithoutaparallel。
Amongstthesciencestherearesomewhichareusefultothemassofmankind，andwhicharewithinitsreach;otherscanonlybeapproachedbythefew，andarenotcultivatedbythemany，whorequirenothingbeyondtheirmoreremoteapplications:butthedailypracticeofthescienceIspeakofisindispensabletoall，althoughthestudyofitisinaccessibletothefargreaternumber。
GeneralideasrespectingGodandhumannaturearethereforetheideasaboveallotherswhichitismostsuitabletowithdrawfromthehabitualactionofprivatejudgment，andinwhichthereismosttogainandleasttolosebyrecognizingaprincipleofauthority。Thefirstobjectandoneoftheprincipaladvantagesofreligions，istofurnishtoeachofthesefundamentalquestionsasolutionwhichisatonceclear，precise，intelligibletothemassofmankind，andlasting。Therearereligionswhichareveryfalseandveryabsurd;butitmaybeaffirmed，thatanyreligionwhichremainswithinthecircleI
havejusttraced，withoutaspiringtogobeyondit（asmanyreligionshaveattemptedtodo，forthepurposeofenclosingoneverysidethefreeprogressofthehumanmind），imposesasalutaryrestraintontheintellect;anditmustbeadmittedthat，ifitdonotsavemeninanotherworld，suchreligionisatleastveryconducivetotheirhappinessandtheirgreatnessinthis。Thisismoreespeciallytrueofmenlivinginfreecountries。Whenthereligionofapeopleisdestroyed，doubtgetsholdofthehighestportionsoftheintellect，andhalfparalyzesalltherestofitspowers。Everymanaccustomshimselftoentertainnonebutconfusedandchangingnotionsonthesubjectsmostinterestingtohisfellow—creaturesandhimself。Hisopinionsareill—defendedandeasilyabandoned:
and，despairingofeverresolvingbyhimselfthehardestproblemsofthedestinyofman，heignoblysubmitstothinknomoreaboutthem。Suchaconditioncannotbutenervatethesoul，relaxthespringsofthewill，andprepareapeopleforservitude。Nordoesitonlyhappen，insuchacase，thattheyallowtheirfreedomtobewrestedfromthem;theyfrequentlythemselvessurrenderit。Whenthereisnolongeranyprincipleofauthorityinreligionanymorethaninpolitics，menarespeedilyfrightenedattheaspectofthisunboundedindependence。Theconstantagitationofallsurroundingthingsalarmsandexhauststhem。Aseverythingisatseainthesphereoftheintellect，theydetermineatleastthatthemechanismofsocietyshouldbefirmandfixed;andastheycannotresumetheirancientbelief，theyassumeamaster。
Formyownpart，Idoubtwhethermancaneversupportatthesametimecompletereligiousindependenceandentirepublicfreedom。AndIaminclinedtothink，thatiffaithbewantinginhim，hemustserve;andifhebefree，hemustbelieve。
Perhaps，however，thisgreatutilityofreligionsisstillmoreobviousamongstnationswhereequalityofconditionsprevailsthanamongstothers。Itmustbeacknowledgedthatequality，whichbringsgreatbenefitsintotheworld，neverthelesssuggeststomen（aswillbeshownhereafter）someverydangerouspropensities。Ittendstoisolatethemfromeachother，toconcentrateeveryman’sattentionuponhimself;anditlaysopenthesoultoaninordinateloveofmaterialgratification。Thegreatestadvantageofreligionistoinspirediametricallycontraryprinciples。Thereisnoreligionwhichdoesnotplacetheobjectofman’sdesiresaboveandbeyondthetreasuresofearth，andwhichdoesnotnaturallyraisehissoultoregionsfarabovethoseofthesenses。Noristhereanywhichdoesnotimposeonmansomesortofdutiestohiskind，andthusdrawshimattimesfromthecontemplationofhimself。Thisoccursinreligionsthemostfalseanddangerous。Religiousnationsarethereforenaturallystrongontheverypointonwhichdemocraticnationsareweak;whichshowsofwhatimportanceitisformentopreservetheirreligionastheirconditionsbecomemoreequal。
IhaveneithertherightnortheintentionofexaminingthesupernaturalmeanswhichGodemploystoinfusereligiousbeliefintotheheartofman。Iamatthismomentconsideringreligionsinapurelyhumanpointofview:myobjectistoinquirebywhatmeanstheymaymosteasilyretaintheirswayinthedemocraticagesuponwhichweareentering。Ithasbeenshownthat，attimesofgeneralcultivationandequality，thehumanminddoesnotconsenttoadoptdogmaticalopinionswithoutreluctance，andfeelstheirnecessityacutelyinspiritualmattersonly。Thisproves，inthefirstplace，thatatsuchtimesreligionsought，morecautiouslythanatanyother，toconfinethemselveswithintheirownprecincts;forinseekingtoextendtheirpowerbeyondreligiousmatters，theyincurariskofnotbeingbelievedatall。Thecirclewithinwhichtheyseektoboundthehumanintellectoughtthereforetobecarefullytraced，andbeyonditsvergethemindshouldbeleftinentirefreedomtoitsownguidance。MahommedprofessedtoderivefromHeaven，andhehasinsertedintheKoran，notonlyabodyofreligiousdoctrines，butpoliticalmaxims，civilandcriminallaws，andtheoriesofscience。Thegospel，onthecontrary，onlyspeaksofthegeneralrelationsofmentoGodandtoeachother—beyondwhichitinculcatesandimposesnopointoffaith。Thisalone，besidesathousandotherreasons，wouldsufficetoprovethattheformerofthesereligionswillneverlongpredominateinacultivatedanddemocraticage，whilstthelatterisdestinedtoretainitsswayattheseasatallotherperiods。
Butincontinuationofthisbranchofthesubject，Ifindthatinorderforreligionstomaintaintheirauthority，humanlyspeaking，indemocraticages，theymustnotonlyconfinethemselvesstrictlywithinthecircleofspiritualmatters:theirpoweralsodependsverymuchonthenatureofthebelieftheyinculcate，ontheexternalformstheyassume，andontheobligationstheyimpose。Theprecedingobservation，thatequalityleadsmentoverygeneralandveryextensivenotions，isprincipallytobeunderstoodasappliedtothequestionofreligion。MenlivinginasimilarandequalconditionintheworldreadilyconceivetheideaoftheoneGod，governingeverymanbythesamelaws，andgrantingtoeverymanfuturehappinessonthesameconditions。TheideaoftheunityofmankindconstantlyleadsthembacktotheideaoftheunityoftheCreator;whilst，onthecontrary，inastateofsocietywheremenarebrokenupintoveryunequalranks，theyareapttodeviseasmanydeitiesastherearenations，castes，classes，orfamilies，andtotraceathousandprivateroadstoheaven。
ItcannotbedeniedthatChristianityitselfhasfelt，toacertainextent，theinfluencewhichsocialandpoliticalconditionsexerciseonreligiousopinions。AttheepochatwhichtheChristianreligionappeareduponearth，Providence，bywhomtheworldwasdoubtlesspreparedforitscoming，hadgatheredalargeportionofthehumanrace，likeanimmenseflock，underthesceptreoftheCaesars。Themenofwhomthismultitudewascomposedweredistinguishedbynumerousdifferences;buttheyhadthusmuchincommon，thattheyallobeyedthesamelaws，andthateverysubjectwassoweakandinsignificantinrelationtotheimperialpotentate，thatallappearedequalwhentheirconditionwascontrastedwithhis。ThisnovelandpeculiarstateofmankindnecessarilypredisposedmentolistentothegeneraltruthswhichChristianityteaches，andmayservetoexplainthefacilityandrapiditywithwhichtheythenpenetratedintothehumanmind。Thecounterpartofthisstateofthingswasexhibitedafterthedestructionoftheempire。TheRomanworldbeingthenasitwereshatteredintoathousandfragments，eachnationresumeditspristineindividuality。Aninfinitescaleofranksverysoongrewupinthebosomofthesenations;thedifferentracesweremoresharplydefined，andeachnationwasdividedbycastesintoseveralpeoples。Inthemidstofthiscommoneffort，whichseemedtobeurginghumansocietytothegreatestconceivableamountofvoluntarysubdivision，Christianitydidnotlosesightoftheleadinggeneralideaswhichithadbroughtintotheworld。Butitappeared，nevertheless，tolenditself，asmuchaswaspossible，tothosenewtendenciestowhichthefractionaldistributionofmankindhadgivenbirth。MencontinuedtoworshipanonlyGod，theCreatorandPreserverofallthings;buteverypeople，everycity，and，sotospeak，everyman，thoughttoobtainsomedistinctprivilege，andwinthefavorofanespecialpatronatthefootoftheThroneofGrace。UnabletosubdividetheDeity，theymultipliedandimproperlyenhancedtheimportanceofthedivineagents。ThehomageduetosaintsandangelsbecameanalmostidolatrousworshipamongstthemajorityoftheChristianworld;andapprehensionsmightbeentertainedforamomentlestthereligionofChristshouldretrogradetowardsthesuperstitionswhichithadsubdued。Itseemsevident，thatthemorethebarriersareremovedwhichseparatenationfromnationamongstmankind，andcitizenfromcitizenamongstapeople，thestrongeristhebentofthehumanmind，asifbyitsownimpulse，towardstheideaofanonlyandall—powerfulBeing，dispensingequallawsinthesamemannertoeveryman。Indemocraticages，then，itismoreparticularlyimportantnottoallowthehomagepaidtosecondaryagentstobeconfoundedwiththeworshipduetotheCreatoralone。
Anothertruthisnolessclear—thatreligionsoughttoassumefewerexternalobservancesindemocraticperiodsthanatanyothers。InspeakingofphilosophicalmethodamongtheAmericans，Ihaveshownthatnothingismorerepugnanttothehumanmindinanageofequalitythantheideaofsubjectiontoforms。Menlivingatsuchtimesareimpatientoffigures;totheireyessymbolsappeartobethepuerileartificewhichisusedtoconcealortosetofftruths，whichshouldmorenaturallybebaredtothelightofopenday:theyareunmovedbyceremonialo...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：
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