John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity

Today, I believe, one ought to keep total silence on the question of religion when writing for an English audience, though indirectly one may strike any blow one wishes at religious beliefs. - JOHN STUART MILL TO AUGUSTE COMTE (1845) John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity introduces material that requires significant reevaluation of John Stuart Mill’s contribution to the development of the liberal tradition. Through his influence, the radical anti-Christianity of the French tradition was incorporated into the Anglo-American political tradition. Linda C. Raeder examines the religious thought and aspirations of the philosopher and shows that, contrary to the conventional view of Mill as the prototypical
secular
liberal, religious preoccupations dominated his thought and structured his endeavors throughout his life. Raeder explores the influence of James Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Claude-Henri Saint-Simon, and Auguste Comte on John Stuart Mill’s religious thought and aims. She treats Mill’s Three Essays on Religion, discusses his participation in the
Mansel Controversy,
and offers a new interpretation of On Liberty and Utilitarianism. Raeder contends that the depth of Mill’s animus toward traditional transcendent religion must be recognized, along with the seriousness of his intent to found a nontheological religion to serve as its replacement: the
Religion of Humanity
that he adopted, with revisions, from Comte. Mill intended his philosophical writings to assist in the realization of this aim, and they cannot adequately be comprehended without an awareness of their subterranean religious theme.