130 
No. XXVII.—RELIGION, FETISHES, &c. 
(See also Totemism, XL.) 
It is often a matter of difficulty to obtain precise informa¬ 
tion as to the religion of an uncivilized people, who conceal 
their doctrines for fear of ridicule, and will purposely put the 
inquirer off the track. After long and friendly intercourse, 
however, a clue may generally be obtained ; and when some¬ 
thing is known, it serves as a means of raising further ques¬ 
tions. It is especially desirable to watch for religious 
ceremonies, such as prayer, sacrifice, festivals, &c., as the native 
religion may be more easily learnt ,from the explanations of 
these acts, than by an attempt to obtain answers to questions 
on abstract doctrine. It is now difficult to find any religion 
which has not borrowed ideas from the civilized world ; all 
that can be done is to ascertain, so far as possible, whether 
these have been introduced within the memory of the relater. 
Information should be obtained from as many sources as 
possible, so that the peculiarities of individuals should not be 
mistaken for the general doctrine of the nation. The accounts 
of missionaries are of the greatest value ; but the impartial 
inquirer should be careful not to be led away by their descrip¬ 
tions of heathen deities as “ devils, : ” and their tendency in 
other matters to view native religions as essentially products 
of imposture and wickedness, instead of representative stages 
of theological and moral development in the course of 
civilization. 
There is great difficulty in determining how far religions 
exercise a moral influence over the ordinary lives of believers. 
In many religions, the moral element seems hardly to enter 
at all; in others the strict performance of ceremonies seems 
held to atone for selfish and wicked lives ; a fairway of class¬ 
ing religions as high and low is according to how far they 
inculcate morals, promise divine favour to the just and good, 
and threaten divine punishment against evil-doers. The 
influence of each religion on morals in every nation demands 
careful and unprejudiced observation. 
