The Natural History of Religion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Natural History of Religion is an essay by David Hume, first published in 1757 as one of Four Dissertations on aesthetics and psychology. In the History, Hume pioneers a naturalist account of the causes, effects, and historical development of religious belief. Hume locates the origins of religion in emotion, particularly fear and desire to control the future. Hume argues that monotheism arises from competition between religions, as believers seek to distinguish their deities as superior to all rivals. The monotheist drive to dominate other beliefs, and to burnish the primitive, emotional core of religion under an veneer of theology, Hume concludes, yields intolerance, intellectual dishonesty, and unnatural moral doctrines.