ABSTRACT
In coining the term religion civile, Rousseau in effect defines an important sub-tradition within the Western theory canon. This chapter sketches a few key moments in that civil-religion tradition. Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Harrington participate in this tradition by virtue of their shared view – which Rousseau, of course, also shares – that the ancient pagan religions were politically sound in a way that Christianity could never be. Rousseau, however, emphasizes that the triumph of Christianity renders paganism permanently irrecoverable. In consequence, what is thought to be Rousseau’s ‘solution’ to the problem of politics and religion turns out to be a phantom solution.
