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that prevent the

proper exercise of
any kind of
law.Rousseau
recommends a
compromise between
the first two kinds
of religion. The
sovereign,as he has
already stated, only
has powerto
determine matters
that are of public
concern. So long as
it does not disturb
the publicinterest,
the people are free
toworship whatever
and however they
please. However,
all citizens should
also pledgeallegiance
to a civil
religion with a very
fewbasic precepts:
the existence of a
God, the belief in an
afterlife, justice for
all, the sanctity
of the social
contract and thelaw,
and the prohibition
of intolerance, which
should prevent
friction between
members
of different
religions.Commentar
yWhen The Social
Contract was first
published, the book
was condemned and
its authorfound
himself a wanted
man both in France
andin his home state
of Geneva. The
outrage the
book caused arose
almost entirely
because of the
chapter on civil
religion, which
wasconsidered
blasphemous by the
religious authorities
of the time. In
advocating civil
religion,Rousseau
advocates a worship
of thestate that is
contrary to the
edicts of any form
of Christianity.The
idea of civil religion,
as Rousseau admits,
is largely inspired by
the cultures of
antiquity.Almost all
ancient cultures
havea pantheon of
gods and a
mythology to explain
the origin of their
people. Their gods
aretheir parents and
their protectors.
Allpeople of a
certain race or
tribe share their
gods in common, to
the exclusion of
alloutsiders. Thus, in
ancient times,
theworship of these
gods was a way of
cementing the
bonds and traditions
that hold a
peopletogether.
Rousseau notes that
this istrue even for
the Jewish God of
the Old Testament.
He is frequently
referred to as "the
Godof Israel," and
serves as a
commonbond that
unites the tribes of
Israel.
Christianity is
different in that it
is an evangelical
religion. As soon as
the apostles
beganconverting
gentiles, there
ceasedto be any
cultural or racial tie
that connected all
Christians. They do
not find their
commonheritage on
earth, but after
deathin the kingdom
of heaven.Rousseau
acknowledges that
there is no point in
trying to replace
Christianity with
older,tribal
religions:
Christianity
hasarrived and has
taken over. Trying to
return to tribal
religion would be like
trying to returnto
the state of
nature.Furthermore,
Rousseau himself
was a devout
Christian, having
been brought up in
theCalvinist state of
Geneva and educated
bydevout French
Catholics. The
question of religion
was just one on
which Rousseau
disagreedbitterly
with the atheistic
proponentsof the
Enlightenment.Howev
er much Rousseau
respects the
scriptures and the
gospels, he has little
patience formuch of
the established
religion of hisday.
He was neither the
first nor the last to
accuse the Catholic
church of
superficiality andan
incompatible mixing
of theearthly and
the heavenly
kingdoms.
Rousseau's
Christianity was a
personal one,
moreclosely allied to
a love of nature than
arespect for the
establishment.
Personal faith of
this kind is
compatible with his
politicalphilosophy
because it does
notintersect at any
point with the public
life expected of all
citizens. Church and
state mayconflict,
but private religion
andstate should not.
The sovereign is only
interested in
matters that are of
public concern,
andone's private
faith does not
fallunder that
umbrella.Rousseau's
idea of civil religion
is essentially an
attempt to return to
the ancient idea
of cementing good
citizenship in faith.
In Book II, Chapter

7, he suggests that
lawgivers often
invent supernatural
origins for thelaws
for a similar reason:
if peoplebelieve that
the laws came from
the gods, they
will be less likely to
violate them. His
civilreligion is not
very complicated.
Itis not caught up
in a great deal of
dogma, and is just
intended to ensure
that the
citizensremain
productive and
obedient. Still,during
an age when religion
has been effectively
divorced from the
state in most
developedcountries,
the attempt to bring
themback together
might seem
uncomfortable.The
notion of
worshipping the
state seems
disturbingly
totalitarian.
Rousseau is careful
tomake tolerance
one of the precepts
of his civil religion,
but such an action
does not prevent an
unreasoned
subservience to
thestate. In
agreeing to the
socialcontract,
citizens agree
rationally to join
together for the
betterment of all.
Yet in basing
thiscontract to some
extent onfaith
rather than on
reason, we
might argue that
citizens sacrifice
the rationality and
civilfreedom that
are the purpose
forforming the
social contract in
the first place.On a
historical note,
during the
##French
Revolution##, the
state instituted
national
festivalssuch as the
"Festival of
theSupreme Being"
that were largely
inspired by
Rousseau's
discussion of civil
religion.Bibliography
Rousseau, Jean-
Jacques. The Social
Contract.
Trans. Maurice
Cranston.
Harmondsworth,Engl
and: Penguin Books,
1968.Wokler,
Robert. Rousseau.
Oxford:
Oxford University
Press, 1995.
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that prevent the

In Book II, Chapter

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