A landmark study of Rousseau’s theological and religious thought.
 
John T. Scott offers a comprehensive interpretation of Rousseau’s theological and religious thought, both in its own right and in relation to Rousseau’s broader oeuvre. In chapters focused on different key writings, Scott reveals recurrent themes in Rousseau’s views on the subject and traces their evolution over time. He shows that two concepts—truth and utility—are integral to Rousseau’s writings on religion. Doing so helps to explain some of Rousseau’s disagreements with his contemporaries: their different views on religion and theology stem from different understandings of human nature and the proper role of science in human life. Rousseau emphasizes not just what is true, but also what is useful—psychologically, morally, and politically—for human beings. Comprehensive and nuanced, Rousseau’s God is vital to understanding key categories of Rousseau’s thought.

John T. Scott is distinguished professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. He is the author most recently of Rousseau’s Reader: Strategies of Persuasion and Education, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

List of Abbreviations

Introduction
Chapter 1: Truth and Utility
Chapter 2: The Theodicy of the Discourse on Inequality
Chapter 3: Pride and Providence in the Letter to Voltaire
Chapter 4: Psychic Unity and Disunity and the Need for Religion
Chapter 5: Introduction to the “Profession of Faith”
Chapter 6: The Theological Teaching of the “Profession of Faith”
Chapter 7: The Critique—and Revival—of Religion in the “Profession of Faith”
Chapter 8: On Civil Religion
Conclusion

Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index