The Concept of Civil Religion in Jean-Jacques Rousseau

This article examines the concept of “civil religion” in Rousseau’s Social Contract. Civil religion, which is very important for Rousseau, is closely related to the other fundamental concepts in the same work such as general will, law, and the Lawgiver. Rousseau believes that a just political regime must be a product of people willing to live together. Rousseau calls this voluntary agreement as the “social contract.” The basis of this regime consists of laws, which are defined by the general will and in turn determine the fair conditions of the social contract. Yet, the realization of this regime depends on an extraordinary figure of a Lawgiver and a civil religion that can resume the work of the Lawgiver. Rousseau conceives civil religion as a preventive institution to prevent the undermining of the social contract by private individuals and groups. Civil religion aims at counteracting the selfish inclinations of individuals that they naturally possess. According to Rousseau, if the self-interest is placed above the common interest, the society and state would dissolve and the state of nature would return. This political role of civil religion is quite important for the right understanding of the concept of civil religion.