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186. - True Religion

from T

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2025

By
Mogens Lærke
Edited by
Karolina Hübner  and
Justin Steinberg
Karolina Hübner
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Justin Steinberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

True religion (religio vera) is a central concept in the TTP. It consists in the practice of justice and charity, love of God, and love of one’s neighbor (TTP12, iii/165; TTP14, iii/174; TTP19, iii/230). According to the Ethics, too, “true life and religion” teaches “that hate is to be conquered by returning love, and that everyone who is led by reason desires for others also the good he wants for himself” (E4p73s; E5p41). In Spinoza’s earlier writings, true religion is sometimes identified with “love of God” and “following the laws of nature” (KV1.18, i/88). Life according to true religion may be encouraged and managed by the state, as in the ancient Hebrew republic, but is ultimately seen by Spinoza to pertain to “the duty of a private man” (TP3.10, iii/289).

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Chapter
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The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon , pp. 547 - 548
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Recommended Reading

Fraenkel, C. (2018). Spinoza’s philosophy of religion. In Della Rocca, M. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Spinoza (pp. 377–407). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
James, S. (2012). Spinoza on Philosophy, Religion, and Politics. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, S. (2022). Spinoza’s philosophical religion. In Garrett, D. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza, 2nd edn (pp. 335–53). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lærke, M. (2021). Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lagrée, J. (1991). La raison ardente: Religion naturelle et raison au XVIIe siècle. J. Vrin.Google Scholar
Matheron, A. (2011). Philosophie et religion chez Spinoza. In Matheron, , Études sur Spinoza et les philosophies de l’âge Classique (pp. 389–406). ENS.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nadler, S. (2011). A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar

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