Prof. Jeffrey Stout - Religion since Cicero

Professor Jeffrey Stout, Professor of Religion at Princeton University, delivers the Gifford Lecture entitled "Religion since Cicero". It is the first lecture in the series 'Religion Unbound: Ideals and Powers from Cicero to King’.

The term 'religion' has roots in Ancient Rome. It can be used neutrally to designate acts, attitudes, dispositions, practices, obligations, roles, and institutions related in some way to divine worship, devotion, or piety. Cicero spoke of religion in that way, but also distinguished between true religion (a moral virtue) and its counterfeits. Lucretius gave 'religion' a negative connotation, by defining it as something inherently dangerous, irrational, or oppressive. Hume split the difference by saying that true religion is a virtue but too rare and lacking in practical implications to be of political value. When we discuss religion’s relation to politics, we have many prior usages at our disposal and much room for manoeuvre. The ideal of ethical religion heralded in modern freedom movements has received insufficient attention.