CHAPTER XVIII. 

 OUR MONISTIC RELIGION. 



Monism as a connecting-link between religion and science. The 

 cultur-kampf. The relations of Church and State. Principles of 

 the monistic religion. Its three-fold ideal: the good, the true, 

 and the beautiful. Contradiction between scientific and Christian 

 truth. Harmony of the monistic and the Christian idea of 

 virtue. Opposition between monistic and Christian views of art. 

 Modern expansion and enrichment of our idea of the world. 

 Landscape-painting and the modern enjoyment of nature. The 

 beauties of nature. This world and beyond. Monistic churches. 



Many distinguished scientists and philosophers of the 

 day, who share our monistic views, consider that 

 religion is generally played out. Their meaning is 

 that the clear insight into the evolution of the world 

 which the great scientific progress of the nineteenth 

 century has afforded us will satisfy, not only the 

 causal feeling of our reason, but even our highest 

 emotional cravings. This view is correct in the 

 sense that the two ideas, religion and science, would 

 indeed blend into one if we had a perfectly clear and 

 consecutive system of monism. However, there are 

 but a few resolute thinkers who attain to this most 

 pure and lofty conception of Spinoza and Goethe. 

 Most of the educated people of our time (as distinct 

 from the uncultured masses) remain in the conviction 

 that religion is a separate branch of our mental life, 

 independent of science, and not less valuable and 

 indispensable. 



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