ABSTRACT
The theory of the origin of the God-concept is a by-product only. For the projection of the conscience into the outer world takes two directions. One is directed to heaven, so to speak, and furnishes energy to the God-concept; another part is directed to the community and returns as social conscience and social feeling. Belief in the goodness of God is redoubled in order to counter this doubt until the primary need of the individual for a more certain belief that God is good, and is not being hated, is again fulfilled. The theory spans a number of phenomena and brings them into a new relationship. To one man the most terrible thing in the world is to lose his belief in God; to another the most terrible thing is to lose contact with the moral values of the community in which he lives.
