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C a m b r i d g e L i b r a r y C o ll e c t i o n Books of enduring scholarly value
Religion For centuries, scripture and theology were the focus of prodigious amounts of scholarship and publishing, dominated in the English-speaking world by the work of Protestant Christians. Enlightenment philosophy and science, anthropology, ethnology and the colonial experience all brought new perspectives, lively debates and heated controversies to the study of religion and its role in the world, many of which continue to this day. This series explores the editing and interpretation of religious texts, the history of religious ideas and institutions, and not least the encounter between religion and science.
The Catechism of Positive Religion This English edition of The Catechism of Positive Religion was published in 1891, thirty-four years after the death of Comte, the French philosopher of science and politics and founder of positivism, whose work was widely read in the later nineteenth century. Comte’s self-published French original of 1852, translated here, outlines his progressive ideal of ‘sociocracy’, which would provide a systematic basis, free of metaphysics, for intellectual and moral transactions among humans. Congreve’s edition, in common with other, divides the book into five parts. The introduction contains two dialogues, entitled General Theory of Religion and Theory of Humanity. Parts 1-3 respectively consider the Positivist’s private and public ‘worship’; ‘doctrine’, including the external world and human society and ethics; and ‘regime’ or way of life, private and public. The final two dialogues cover polytheism, monotheism and theocracy. This book remains of interest as an early precursor of secular humanist ethics.
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The Catechism of Positive Religion Or Summary Exposition of the Universal Religion in Thirteen Systematic Conversations Between a Woman and a Priest of Humanity Auguste C omte
C a mb r i dge U n i v er si t y P re ss Cambridge New York Melbourne Madrid Cape Town Singapore São Paolo Delhi Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108000871 © in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2009 This edition first published 1891 This digitally printed version 2009 ISBN 978-1-108-00087-1 This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated.
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