Concerning the Pseudo-Service of God in a Statutory Religion

Jim Dillon

Introduction

Kant, in his Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone,[i] wishes to discuss the absurdity of all (so called established) religions that are based upon phenomenal laws; for, even though these ecclesiastical faiths may deal with moral laws, some what, the noumenal moral law is subservient to the phenomenal laws set up by the leaders of the faith. For Kant, the moral law is the supreme law that phenomenal laws may attempt to emulate, but may not contradict: all but the moral law is superfluous and must only remain in place to guide people toward abiding by the moral law. Kant describes the final of the three kinds of illusory faith, miracles, mysteries, and specifically means of grace. He argues that nothing can take the place of the life lived in abidance to the moral law; neither prayers, church visits, affirmations of faith, nor communion, can justify one’s alienation from the moral law. These actions must act only as a bridge toward the moral life. They must assist one toward a life lived in accordance with the moral law. There is simply no equal to, nor attunement for abiding by the moral law. Thus all religions, excepting those with the sole intention of the invisible Kingdom of God, the community of followers of the moral law, are merely illusory because of practicing pseudo-service of God; this is reprehensible to Kant. The pseudo-service of God is placing more emphasis on the phenomenal laws of ecclesiastical faiths than the moral laws of pure religious faith, acts that at the same time are directly juxtaposed to the moral law (Kant 156). Kant examines the statutory religious in order to discuss the pure religion throughout the following text.

Concerning the Universal Subjective Ground of the Religious Illusion

There seems to exist the human propensity to create a human-like God-head, a pliable God whom can be won over, in order to create the false sense that somehow one can make up for his/her fallibility (Kant 156-157). This idea is nothing more than a false idol; for God can never be truly known because he lies outside the limits of reason.

Anthropomorphism… is highly dangerous in connection with our practical relation to His will, and even for our morality; for here we create a God for ourselves, and we create Him in the form which we believe we shall be able most easily to win Him over to our advantage and ourselves escape from the wearisome uninterrupted effort of working upon the innermost part of our moral disposition. (Kant 157)

There exists a propensity to create actions that are said to be pleasing to God in order to gain His favor; however, these have no moral basis and are thus superfluous, if not outright contradictory to, the intended purpose. (Kant 157) Thus, the products of such a propensity are, “merely a religious illusion which can assume various forms, in some of which it appears more moral than in others; but in all forms it is not merely an inadvertent deception but is rather a maxim of attributing to a means an intrinsic value instead of the value deriving from the end.” (Kant 158) In other words, people try to escape living in accordance to the moral law by creating and practicing actions that are said to be pleasing to God in an attempt atone for not practicing the former. Kant finds this fetishism of faith “reprehensible” (158).

The Moral Principle of Religion Opposed to the Religious Illusion

The second section pounds home the necessary placement of one’s life in accordance with the moral law, instead of the down dragging dogmas of religious illusions and their pseudo-service of God (Kant 158). “Whatever, over and above good life-conduct, man fancies that he can do to become well-pleasing to God is mere religious illusion and pseudo-service of God.” (Kant 158) Reason says that he whom has the disposition to abide by his moral duty may hope for help from God, grace, in areas in which he is powerless (Kant 159). However, one will not be able to know how, why, or to what extent grace is provided (Kant 159). Furthermore, the relationship between God and man cannot be understood theoretically because this concept lies outside of reason (Kant 159). Therefore, pious actions cannot replace the necessity of following the moral law, but can only supplement one’s adherence there to (Kant 161). The only way to serve God is through following the moral law; everything else is superfluous. Any other means of attending to God’s will is purely illusory baggage. Grace serves as a supplement to the deficient moral power of human beings, and can only be wished for, not caused, by human actions (Kant 162). Ecclesiastical faiths must not get bogged down in religious illusions, but must bridge the gap between people and pure religion - adherence to the moral law (Kant 163).

Concerning Clericalism as a Government in the Pseudo-Service of the Good Principle

The job of leaders of ecclesiastical faiths is to aid people in leading a life that is in accordance to the moral law: not to control the community through a brain washing of the public (Kant 164). It is useless to worship God in any means other than by following the moral law (Kant 164). Those faiths, statutory faiths, that require actions other than those that are in line with the moral law, be they ritualistic or spontaneous; those that focus on phenomenal laws instead of noumenal law, and on how to make up for alienation from the moral laws, instead of adherence to them – these have succumbed to the religious illusion (Kant 164). In fact, these phenomenal laws are often contradictory to intended purposes, and accomplish nothing if they do not the promotion of true morality (Kant 165). He whom practices these acts in order to atone for noncompliance to the moral law is practicing an illusory religion (Kant 165). This is because phenomenal acts have no influence in the noumenal realm (Kant 166). These superfluous activities cannot bribe God to overlook one’s inner disposition. A fetish-faith places the emphasis on acts that do not even lead to the observance of moral laws and create servants of a church not abiders of the moral laws (Kant 168). By placing emphasis on statutes and not the moral law, the church controls the thoughts of the subjects of both: thoughts that should be an obedience to the moral law (Kant 168). The true universal church is an invisible commonwealth of people whom serve God through their disposition to live by the moral law (Kant 164).

The Intimations of Historical Faith

Historical faith is helpful when teaching about living in accordance with the moral law, so long as it does not hinder the proper focus (Kant 170). Historical faith possesses a moral worth only when it enhances his disposition in obedience to the moral law (Kant 170). The emphasis on godliness: the fear of God, coupled with the love of God, should merely illuminate the way to the moral life, help create a better man, not take center stage; for the concept of God lies outside the limits of reason, but the moral laws are engraved in us all (Kant 170-171). It is these laws alone that one can follow and be certain that they are pleasing to God. The true God is worthy to serve only because of his legislation of virtue (Kant 172). Religions that place the most emphasis on adoration of God create an idol not worthy of followers (Kant 173).

Concerning the Guide of Conscience in Matters of Faith

The conscience is a higher state of consciousness that is indeed a duty (173). One’s conscience does not have to have to evaluate the actuality of an event, for this task belongs to reason (Kant 174). However, the conscience must form an opinion of all actions to be undertaken by its owner: the criteria of opinions must be the moral laws and must contain no doubt (Kant 174). Reason must be sure to regulate itself in such a way that it guarantees a full and proper evaluation of a phenomenal event in conjunction to the phenomenal law (Kant 174). The conscience deals only with the morality of an action, with the numen, the reason deals with the natural aspects of the action.

Ideas such as killing for the phenomenal statutes of an ecclesiastical faith, a faith that cannot be proven by means other than historical or visionary, must be usurped by the conscience because killing is juxtaposed to the moral law (Kant 174-175). (Phenomenal laws must be proven, unlike the moral law that are inherent in all men and therefore need not be proven.) Anyone who follows a faith that commands or permits actions that are not in attunement to the moral law can consider him/herself as being in direct disobedience to the very God they are trying to serve (Kant 175). Leaders of faith must not attempt to convince others to believe something they themselves cannot totally believe at risk of alienation from the moral law (Kant 176). Hypocrites are those whom do not see the danger of the dishonesty associated with superfluous religious attempts; dishonesty all the people can perceive (Kant 177). However the man/woman of the pure religion will not abide by those rules that are rejected by the conscience because they are not in accordance with the moral law (Kant 177). Kant would like for all leaders of faith to ask him/herself, “Do you really trust yourself to assert the truth of these dogmas in the sight of Him who knows the heart and at risk of losing all that is valuable and holy to you? (Kant 177)” He believes this would discourage leaders from committing acts of hypocrisy, which not only hurt themselves, but endanger all followers of this hypocrite.

General Observation

Kant wants to distinguish acts of nature from acts of grace. Natural acts are those that can be accounted for through cause and effect: laws within which people can freely exist (Kant 179). Grace occurs through “supernatural assistance”, those actions that can not be explained through natural causes (Kant 179). Kant, in a round about way, states that grace can not be directed toward oneself by acts other than striving to live in attunement with the moral law, and that even then one can not predict any future gracious event in capacity, not power (Kant 179). Those acts that are superfluous to pure religion only have value if they aid in the betterment of man; so that he may more closely follow the path to abidance in the moral laws.

The concept of a super natural accession to our moral, though deficient, capacity and even to our not wholly purified and certainly weak disposition to perform our entire duty, is a transcendent concept, and is a bare idea, of whose reality no experience can assure us (Kant 179).

“That which is to be accredited to us as morally good conduct must take place not through foreign influence but solely through the best possible use of our own powers. (Kant 179)” This suggests that any act a human being may undertake that may be, in any way, shape, or form, considered in attunement with the moral laws must be a free act, an act willed to be performed by the individual undertaking such action (Kant 179). The idea of grace is a noumenal one; one cannot know of its occurrence, never the less, make oneself worthy of grace (Kant 180). Time spent seeking grace from above by practicing superfluous actions hoping to button hook God should rather be spent changing his disposition towards adherence to the moral law (180). The only means for solicitation of grace is the continual strive to live in attunement with the moral law, for grace focuses on moral actions alone (Kant 180).

True moral service to god is the, “disposition of obedience to all true duties as divine commands, not in actions directed exclusively to God. (Kant 180)” Thus, one may not gain grace by searching for it, but only by striving to do ones duty, following the moral law (Kant 180). The sensuousness of ecclesiastical faiths only plays a role as a bridge to pure religion; however, he considers only four means of service reasonable for action: private prayer, church-going, affirmations of faith, and communion, but only because they, “have been regarded as useful means for sensuously awakening and sustaining our attention to the true service of God. (Kant 181)” Any faith that requires superfluous actions, actions other than these four is a “fetish-faith”, because it turns the practice of religion into a fetishism (181). Before discussing the bridge-like actions of private prayer, church-going, affirmations of faith, and communion, Kant discusses the final of the three “illusory faiths”, means of grace.

Faith in means of grace is the belief that one may influence God to act upon his/her morality, and is foolish indeed (Kant 182). This is the unfounded idea that one may bring about a gracious action directed toward his wishes (Kant 182). Private prayer should be an attempt to elevate ones moral disposition so that the spirit of the prayer will no longer need the vehicle of words (Kant 185). The use of words as a vehicle for a truly spiritual prayer is considered to be detrimental to the prayer; therefore, one should strive toward purely spiritual prayer (Kant185). Church-going is a means of grace when is it performed in an attempt to please God by showing up, and not a visit involving the attempt at further attunement of ones moral disposition (Kant 186-187). Affirmations of faith coupled with actions, such as baptism, may aim at some divine true, but are detrimental to faith because they make people confess articles of which lie outside the limit of reason (Kant 187). The belief that a communion with God can do more than point towards the equality and brotherhood to be experience in the invisible church, is nothing but another attempt at a means of grace (Kant 188). “Clericalism in general would therefore be the dominion of the clergy over men’s hearts, usurped by dint of arrogating to themselves the prestige attached to exclusive possession of means of grace. (Kant 188)” Thus, the clergy attempt to make themselves into God-heads instead of doing their rightful job of aiding people to live according to the moral law.

In the final section of the text, Kant wishes to express that people attempt to circumvent one of three divine moral attributes of holiness, mercy, and justice; often holiness, living in accordance to the moral laws, by placing greater emphasis on another; often mercy (188). This tendency is attributed to man’s own fallible governments that allow the three pillars of rule to intermingle, allowing one slip through; however by doing this man is creating a false image of God (Kant 188). People tend to try and atone for not following the moral laws, instead of striving to live in attunement with them (Kant 189). Godliness, true religious disposition, can only be achieved by the consummation of virtue by one’s love of God; it cannot be earned through superfluous activities (Kant 189). More simply, living ones life in attunement with the moral law. For Kant, the true man/woman uses religion to aid the enhancement of one’s virtuous disposition toward a “good course of life”, living by the moral laws (Kant 189). Thus, for Kant the path to true enlightenment requires virtue before pardoning grace: the virtue must be in place to in order attract more virtue (Kant 190).

Closing

Kant has attacked the statutory religions and shown the path toward pure religion. He explains how one must allow his/her love for God to consummate his/her will disposition toward the moral laws, in order to be a member of the invisible Kingdom of God on earth. Statutory faiths pursue a fetish-faith, which provides no aid if not promoting the life attunement to the moral laws.