Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason

VII                                     

Page

Division 2. Historical representation of the
gradual founding of the dominion of the good
principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
General Remark. (On "Mysteries".) Kant discusses "mysteries" not as things to be solved, but as aspects of faith that reason cannot fully grasp yet must respect in a moral context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Fourth Part. On the Service and Spurious Service (Afterdienst) original: "Afterdienst." This refers to "counterfeit" or "pseudo-service"—religious acts like rituals or specific prayers that people perform in the mistaken belief that they please God more than a moral life does.
under the dominion of the good principle, or of
Religion and Priestercraft (Pfaffentum) original: "Pfaffentum." A critical term for a religious system where a clergy rules over the laity through institutional laws and ceremonies rather than through the shared moral reason of the community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Part 1. On the Service of God in a Religion
in general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Section 1: The Christian Religion as a Nat-
ural Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Section 2: The Christian Religion as a
Learned Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Part 2. On the Spurious Service of God in a
Statutory Religion A "statutory" religion is one based on revealed laws or traditions (statutes) unique to a specific church, rather than on universal moral laws discovered through reason. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
§ 1. On the general subjective ground of
religious delusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 197.
§ 2. The moral principle of religion opposed to
religious delusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 199.
§ 3. On Priestercraft as a governance in the
spurious service of the good principle . . . . . . . p. 205.
§ 4. On the guide of conscience in
matters of faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 217.
General Remark. (On the "Means of Grace".) original: "Gnadenmittel." Traditional religious practices—such as prayer, church attendance, and sacraments—which Kant evaluates based on whether they actually help a person become morally better or just offer a false sense of security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Editor’s Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237—260
Index of Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Alphabetical list of the biblical passages
cited or interpreted by Kant . . . . . . . . . . 258