Religion is a component of almost every society.Knowing this, one might look at the function itserves. For Jean-Jacques Rousseau, religion,specifically a civil religion established by theSovereign, is an instrument of politics that serves amotivating function. In a new society people areunable to understand the purpose of the law.Therefore, civil religion motivates people to obey thelaw because they fear some divine being. For adeveloped society, civil religion motivates people tomaintain the habit of obedience because they grow tounderstand and love the law. First of all, it isnecessary to clarify Rousseau’s ideas on religion. InChapter Eight of On the Social Contract, Rousseaudistinguishes four types of religion. The first of these is the “religion of man.” Accordingto Rousseau, this type of religion is “withouttemples, alters or rites.” It is “limited to thepurely internal cult of the supreme God and to theeternal duties of morality–is the pure and simplereligion of the Gospel, the true theism, and what canbe called natural divine law” (SC, Bk IV, Ch. 8).
Inaddition, he describes the “religion of man” asChristianity. However, it is different than theChristianity of today in that it is focused on theGospels and “through this holy, sublime, truereligion, men, in being the children of the same God,all acknowledge one another as brothers, and thesociety that united them is not dissolved even indeath” (SC, Bk IV, Ch. 8).
The Essay on The Impacts of Religion on Society
The Caribbean region has a diversity of religions. As various nations settled in the Caribbean over the years they brought along with them their religious beliefs and practices. The Europeans brought Christianity and its many denominations such as roman catholic, Anglicans, Baptist and so on. Indian indentured workers brought Hinduism and Islam and the Africans brought voodoo and other spiritual ...
Rousseau finds fault inthis type of religion. True Christianity of this sortwould require every citizen to be an equally goodChristian for peace and harmony to be maintained. Inaddition, Rousseau argues that it would be unlikelyfor every man to be concerned only with heavenlythings. He anticipated that “a single ambitious man, a single hypocrite, a Cataline, for example, or aCromwell, he would quite undoubtedly gain an upperhand on his pious compatriots” (SC, Bk IV. Ch. 8).
Rousseau defines the second type of religion as the“religion of the citizen.” He states, the other,inscribed in a single country, gives its gods, its owntutelary patrons. It has its dogmas, its rites, andits exterior cult prescribed by its laws. Outside thenation that practices it, everything is infidel, alienand barbarous to it. It extends the duties and rightsof man only as far as it alters (SC, Bk IV, Ch 8).
Rousseau believes this type of religion is goodbecause it unites “the divine cult” with love of thelaws. On the other hand, this type of religion has thepotential to make men superstitious and intolerant.When the boundary between Church and state is clouded,men may begin to “believe they are performing a boldaction in killing anyone who does not accept its gods”(SC, Bk IV, Ch 8).
Rousseau points out a third type of religion, which inhis own words is “more bizarre.” He calls this“religion of the priest” and states “in giving men twosets of legislation, two leaders, and two homelands,it subjects them to contradictory duties and preventsthem from being simultaneously devout men andcitizens.” An example of this type of religion isRoman Catholicism. Roman Catholics are subject to thelaw of the Church as well as the law of the state.They are subject to the authority of the pope as wellas the authority of the leader of the state. Also,they are commanded subject to the rule of the Vaticanas well as the rule of their homeland. For Rousseau,“religion of the priest” is “so bad that it is a wasteof time to amuse oneself by proving it. Whateverbreaks up social unity is worthless. All institutionsthat place man in contradiction to himself are of novalue” (SC, Bk IV, Ch 8).
Because Rousseau finds serious faults with the firstthree types, he calls for people to adhere to a fourthkind of religion. He defines this as “civil religion.”He asserts that it is the Sovereign’s duty torequire a “purely civil profession of faith” and toestablish the dogmas of a civil religion. Rousseauelaborates on this by stating; the dogmas of the civilreligion ought to be simple, few in number, preciselyworded, without explanations or commentaries. Theexistence of a powerful, intelligent, beneficentdivinity that foresees and provides; the life to come;the happiness of the just; the punishment of thewicked; the sanctity of the social contract and of thelaws. These are the positive dogmas. As for thenegative dogmas, he is limiting them to just one,namely intolerance (SC, Bk IV, Ch 8).
The Essay on Religion Meaning God People
In order to elaborate on the subject of religion we must look deeply into its origin and true meaning. Where do we get all laws and standards of living Religion is a very broad and difficult thing to decode. There are so many different beliefs and laws that cultures abide by, startrting at any one subject would lead me right back to the question, where does our worship derive from Ra Un Neffer ...
Furthermore, theSovereign can banish any man who does not believethese tenets. However, one is not banished for beingimpious, but rather, for being unsociable. Keepingthis in mind, one can address the reasons why Rousseaufeels a civil religion is necessary. For Rousseau,this type of religion motivates people in two distinctways. First of all, for people in emerging societies,it creates fear and awe of a power larger than thestate (Dent, 1988).
Rousseau characterizes people in these new societiesas incapable of understanding the real purpose andprinciples of law (SC, Bk II, Ch 6).
In turn, he fearsthat the ignorance of the masses will interfere withtheir obedience of civil law. Recognizing the dilemmasassociated with instituting a system of laws in a newsociety, Rousseau places most of the burden on theLegislator (Trachtenberg, 1993).
It becomes theLegislator’s duty to guide the people towards thecommon good. However, pointing the people in thedirection of the common good will not just come as aresult of the Legislator’s high intellect nor hissound reasoning ability. Instead, the Legislator willhave to appeal to a higher force. A force, thatpeople are more comfortable with and trusting of(Rosenblatt, 1997).
Rousseau states, “Since,therefore, the legislator is incapable of using eitherforce or reasoning, he must of necessity have recourseto an authority of a different order, which can compelwithout violence and persuade without convincing” (SC,Bk II, Ch 7).
In this passage Rousseau is referring tothe use of religion as an instrument of politics.Religion becomes a means of motivating people tosubject themselves willingly to the law (Trachtenberg,1993).
The Essay on Hate Crime Laws Crimes People States
Hate crimes are on the rise all over the United States because there are so many different cultures, which do not get along. The majority of these crimes are occurring mostly in the states where there are no hate crime laws or where the laws are not strict enough, which is why all states should have some type of law to prevent such crimes, along with federal intervention to stiffen the penalties. ...
It appeals to the man’s primitive instinct ofsurvival. Motivation arises out of the fear and awepeople have of divine power over them (Trachtenberg,1993).
They not only see the potential of civilsanctions, but they also see the fear of heavenlyretribution. Likewise, they see compliance with thelaw as a means of receiving the favor and blessing ofGod (Dent, 1988).
According to one author, “religionremedies the effect of the cognitive deficit theLegislator encounters with a new people”(Trachtenberg, 1993).
The function of civil religion evolves simultaneouslywith the development of society. As a society changesand becomes more aware of the direction of the commongood, the purpose of civil religion shifts. Once thelaws have been implemented, citizens begin to learnthrough experience that it is to their advantage tolive under the law (Trachtenberg, 1993).
They nolonger need to be manipulated into obedience. This isnot to say that civil religion loses its value andfalls by the way side. Instead, it becomes a differentkind of motivator. It is not used as a mechanism toimpose obedience of the law, but rather, a means tomaintain obedience to the law (Dent, 1988).
Rousseauwrites, “For it is of great importance to the statethat each citizen have a religion that causes him tolove his duties.” But the dogmas of that religion areof no interest either to the state or its members,except to the extent that these dogmas relate tomorality and to the duties, which the one whoprofesses them is bound to fulfill toward others (SC,Bk IV, Ch 8).
This passage describes what Rousseauenvisions society to be like. He suggests that civilreligion will create an invariable bond between peopleand the law (Lemos, 1977).
According to Rousseau, thelaw, by its very nature has force, however when linkedto religion this force is increased (Trachtenberg,1993).
It is evident that one will have duties insociety regardless of the presence of religion (Dent,1988).
Simply put, they are requirements of civilassociation. However, it is not required that citizenslove these duties. This is where civil religion fitsin. It is a means of creating the love people have fortheir duties and moral responsibilities.
The Essay on Is There a Place for Religion in Today’s Society?
Take for instance the use of birth control so subdue over population. For Christian, they will see this as something sinful. This only led to others believing that religion is rigid, traditional, and close-minded and too controlling. There is also a view that religion is illogical believing in something that we can’t see. As people become smarter they try to question the existence of god or any ...
This love of the law is unlike that created by the“religion of the citizen” (Dent, 1988).
While bothprovide a strong link between the individual and thelaw, a civil religion does not turn the state into theobject of adoration. Nor does a civil religionemphasize intolerance. In fact it emphasizes just theopposite point of view. Rousseau states, “toleranceshould be shown to all those that tolerate others, solong as their dogmas contain nothing contrary to theduties of a citizen” (SC, Bk IV, Ch 8) In turn, theSovereign is not concerned with whether or not thedogmas of the civil religion are right or wrong butinstead with the moral, social, and politicalconsequences it brings forth (Trachtenberg, 1993).
Clearly, one can see that Rousseau takes seriously thefunction of religion in society. He outlines four verydifferent types of religions in his texts but callsfor adherence to only one, civil religion. He seesthis type of religion as a serving, motivatingfunction. For people in emerging societies who areunable to understand the purpose of law, civilreligion motivates them to obey out of fear. For thosein developed societies, the motivation to obey thelaws comes from a love and devotion to the law.
BibliographyRousseau: An Introduction to His Psychological,Social, and Political Theory By: N.J.H. Dent 1998Making Citizens: Rousseau’s Political Theory ofCulture By: Zev Trachtenberg July 1993Rousseau’s Political Philosophy: An Exposition andInterpretation By: Ramon M. Lemos 1977Rousseau & Geneva: From the First Discourse to theSocial Contract By: Helena Rosenblatt June 1997On The Social Contract By: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Textbook)
