Must society be grounded in religion?

Must society be grounded in religion? St Augustine, City of God PHIL 1003, 2008-09

Overview • Communitarianism of • Plato: community of women, children, property • Aristotle: polis • Augustine: res publica and City of God • They believe the whole—the community—is more than the sum of the parts • Implications for today?

b. 354-d. 430 C.E. N. Africa Christian mother, pagan father 373: adopts Manichean religion 375-87: teacher of rhetoric 387: conversion to Christianity 388 begins contemplative life 391: establishes monastery, ordination to priesthood 395: Bishop of Hippo 397: Confessions published A “father of the Church”; doctrine of original sin Who was St Augustine?

Confessions Autobiography Statement of faith Shows power of God to convert sinners

Confessions: Pre-Christian Phase • “I went to Carthage, where I found myself in the midst of a hissing cauldron of lust….” (Confs., Bk III.1). • “…I was also studying for the law. Such ambition was held to be honourable and I determined to succeed in it. The more unscrupulous I was, the greater my reputation was likely to be…” (Confs., Bk III.3). • “…when I first read the Scriptures…they seemed quite unworthy of comparison with the stately prose of Cicero” (Confs., Bk III.5).

Manicheanism • Proscribed (forbidden) sect • Dualist materialism • Eclectic: included Christianity and other religions • Based on false science, including astronomy and astrology (Confs., Bk V.3-7) • Basic tenets • evil and good are physical substances • body is corrupt; • Elect eat only vegetables filled with light in order to purify their bodies.

Platonism • Cicero’s Hortensius gave A. desire for “wisdom of eternal truth”; • Yet he still “could imagine no kind of substance except such as is normally seen by the eye” (Confs., Bk VII.1); • “books of the Platonists” opened him to the supersensible realm (Ideas, Forms) (Confs., Bk VII.9). • Key to his acceptance of Christianity: • God is immaterial, incorruptible (like the Forms); this is true reality • Good and evil are not embodied as Manichees believed.

Key theological ideas • Problem of evil: where does it come from? • Manichean answer: from corrupt physical elements: the body, certain foods • Christian (Aug.) answer: from misuse of free will [but why do we misuse it?!] • God is good and everything in us that is good comes from God (Confs., Bk I.20) • Doctrine of original sin—even babies would sin if they could (Confs., Bk I.7)

City of God A reply to the pagans

The pagan case against Christianity • The Roman Empire began to disintegrate in the 3rd century C.E. • Edict of Milan made Christianity legal (but not official) in 313 C.E. • Constantine gave buildings, lands and privileges to the Church; baptized on his death bed (337 C.E.) • Christianity spread widely in the army and cities • 391 Christianity becomes state religion • Pagans claimed that Christianity destroyed Rome.

Augustine’s reply to the pagans • Roman religion was polytheist; Christianity is monotheist; • First charge: Roman gods did not assure their worshippers’ morals • E.g. Obscene theatricals violate universal notion of respect for parents (2.4) • Poets not allowed to slander men, but cast aspersions on the gods (2.14) • Cites Plato’s expulsion of poets from his city in speech (2.14)

Augustine’s reply, cont. • Romans’ morals corrupted for centuries; • Republic (BCE) supposed to be more moral than the Empire; • But even late Republic corrupt (1st cent. BCE); • Pagans--Sallust, Cicero—admit this themselves; • So Roman gods must be to blame; • Yet pagans blame Christianity for a moral decline that pre-dates Christianity (2.19)!

Augustine’s reply, cont. • Cicero considers whether republic/city requires justice; • “Republic” = “the affair of a people” (res publica, the “public thing”); • A “people” = not just any grouping; • But “a fellowship united through a consensus concerning right and a sharing of advantage” (2.21); • Like Aristotle’s polis!

Augustine claims that on this definition, Rome was never a republic in the true sense.

Why? • “…the republic never existed because true justice was never present in it”; • “However…a certain sort of republic did exist, and it was directed better by the earlier Romans than by the later ones”; • Because “true justice does not exist except in that republic whose founder and ruler is Christ” (2.21, p. 21).

What is true justice? • “The iniquitous institutions of human beings must not be said or thought to exist by right”; • “…justice is that virtue which distributes to everyone his due. What sort of justice is it, then, that takes a man away from the true God and subjects him to unclean demons?” • “…when a man does not serve God, what in him can…belong to justice?...the soul can in no way justly rule the body, or human reason the vices” (19.21).

Shared advantage • “…”there is no advantage to any who live impiously, as do all who do not serve God” (19.21). • “…the Romans have up to this point served evil and impure demons…” • e.g. Romans’ animal sacrifices were demonic • “We ourselves—his city—are the best and most radiant sacrifice” (19.23).

Summation “…justice exists when the one and supreme God rules his obedient city according to his grace” (19.23): • Soul commands body • Reason commands vices (Aristotelian/Platonic).

Bishop Bossuet Why it is better for a state to be pagan than atheist

Bishop Bossuet, 17th century • Principles of religion even in pagan states • Athenians “adored [God] unknowingly” (193) • “tradition of divinity and sacrifice” (192) • Certain principles allow for stability of pagan states • E.g. “sanctity of the oath” (193) guarantees treaties, contracts, promises; makes business possible. • Oath “establishes the greatest possible security among men” (194); • Does not have to be sworn by the one true God, but only by the God one recognizes (194).

Question • According to Book II, "true justice does not exist except in that republic whose founder and ruler is Christ”; • In Book XIX, "when not serving God, the soul can in no way justly rule the body, or human reason the vices...there is not any justice in such a man….“ • In modern societies, some cities/peoples are grounded in religion while some are not. • Does this mean that some cities/peoples have no true justice? • Do you agree that cities/people should be religious in order to be moral?

Further Questions • What are some examples of modern societies that subscribe to Augustine’s views? • Do you agree with Augustine that society should have a moral basis? • Does the moral basis have to be religious in character? • Or could it have another basis?

Must society be grounded in religion?