ABSTRACT
I argue that in Dialogues Part XII, the character Cleanthes represents the views on the relation of religion and morality of Hume's Scottish contemporaries, while Philo represents Hume's own view that all religion, including natural religion, has does not have a beneficial effect on morality. I trace Philo's views on this topic to those of Hume himself in other writings where he speaks in his own voice. The question is raised as to how Hume can maintain (in the Treatise) that “reason is, and ought to be the slave of the passions” and also hold that his own rational philosophical writings can be effective in countering the negative effects on morality of religious belief. I argue that the answer lies in the fact that he regards philosophy as a critical enterprise which can effectively undermine false moral beliefs and hence the passions which are dependent on them.
