stage of thought is extremely complicated and confused. man's intelligence increases and as he views nature with more discrimination, he distinguishes a difference in importance among her aspects and even begins dimly to perceive an ordered uni

His mode of thought is influenced also by the change in the form of the political structure which at this stage is passing from the tribal organization to that of the state or nation. The outstanding features of the early state are law, order, and hierarchy of position. And these same characteristics, orderliness and hierarchy, man transfers to his spiritual world. In doing so he does not at once deny the existence of spirits formerly honored and believed in, but he gradually classifies them; and as his attention and his religious observances are concentrated on the important spirits, the unimportant are neglected and eventually forgotten.

This more highly organized form of religion, the outgrowth of spiritism, is called polytheism; but it develops gradually and undergoes extensive changes before it emerges into a form which may be classified as a separate religious belief. The gods still are nature gods; but social activities, which have been growing in complexity and importance, begin to receive religious emphasis. The heavenly bodies, the winds, mountains, and rivers continue to be worshipped; but occupations, such as war and agriculture, assume a significance which demands appropriate gods.

The expanding comprehension of human and natural forces finally results in the conviction that man is superior to nature and that human attributes are the noblest of all. In some cases, particularly in Greece, the gods have been represented as human beings possessing human qualities though to an exaggerated or perfected degree. In other cases, as in Egypt and in India, the gods have been idealized as beings unlike men and remote from them, and they are represented in grotesque shapes, often combinations of animals and men, suggesting that the gods are not subject to the limitations of men but possess all known powers.

During the period of polytheism the development of religion followed two important lines: the first a change in form tending towards monotheism, and the second a change in content from a nature to an ethical basis. The change in the direction of monotheism was due merely to an extension of those influences which caused polytheism to grow out of spiritism. On the subjective side it revealed a clearer conception of the essential unity of all nature. Human understanding finally attained the realization that the universe was not a product of many independent and ofttimes conflicting forces, but was the result of a single all-embracing power with innumerable manifestations. On the objective side monotheism resulted from the gradual elevation of one god above all the others until he entirely displaced them or else absorbed them into himself.

Of the change in the content of religion from a nature to an ethical basis the steps are obscure and not easily accounted for. During the early period of religious thought ethics was separated from religion and the two did not unite until the late period of polytheism. Individual conduct and the relationship of men to one another were governed by custom as expressed in the mores; and the relationship of man to the spirit world was governed by religious belief, which was on an entirely different basis. But this separation could not be permanent. When it came to be generally recognized that human beings were the most important forces in the universe, and when, therefore, the gods were conceived as possessing human attributes, inevitably they came to personify desirable or ideal human qualities. And as the gods passed from the representation of natural forces to the personification of virtues, the change marked one important step in the union of ethics and religion. It is probable that the physical conditions stimulating this mental transformation were the decline of the political unit based on blood relationship and the growth of a state having a much larger and more heterogeneous population than ever before. The change seems to have been assisted also by an increasing realization of cause and effect in nature. Moreover, the enlargement of the population increased social contacts and made the relations of the living with one another seem of relatively greater importance than the relationship between the living and the dead. And as the truth gradually dawned that phenomena in the external world were

the results of natural law instead of the direct interposition of spirits, the cultivation of friendly relations with spirits seemed less essential. The problem of social relationships was complicated also by the increased heterogeneity of the population. When members of the group were no longer either actually or by fiction blood relations, the old sanctions of conduct, evolved in the mores, proved inadequate to ensure group stability, and the reënforcement of religion was found to be useful in the regulation of conduct within the group. The denser the population became the greater grew the need of curbing the passions of the individual in the interests of the group as a whole. Such increased complexities in social relations, combined with a clearer understanding of natural forces, brought about the change from nature to ethical religions. Of course the attainment of a complete ethical content did not coincide with the conditions which produced the change but followed them tardily, for religious beliefs are modified slowly.

The two transformations in religion here outlined, from polytheism to monotheism, and from a nature to an ethical cult, do not necessarily accompany each other, though the fact that the great ethical religions are also monotheistic might lead to the supposition that they did. The amalgamation of ethics and religion usually occurs long before the acceptance of the monotheistic idea, and the influence of the one on the other is probably remote and indirect.

Ethical religions are usually subdivided; those which are universal in their nature, and therefore proselyting, are distinguished from those which are local or which pertain to a particular people. Professor Tiele classifies only two religions as universalistic, Buddhism and Christianity, though Mohammedanism is on the border line. Ethical religions differ fundamentally in their general characteristics, and they also show progressive development in spirit. The ethical quality of religions has changed from a mere desire to avoid doing specific injury to others in order to escape retribution in a future existence, -as exemplified in the morality of the Egyptian“ Book of the Dead," - to a complete ordering of acts and thoughts so that the individual spirit may come into harmonious adjustment with the

universal spirit, as exemplified in the lives of the Christian saints.

Definition of Religion. This brief outline of religious phenomena is sufficient to show that a definition of religion, if it is to describe manifestations of such diverse character, can be stated only in general terms and include only essential factors. Broadly speaking, religions in all stages of development have expressed the effort of man to adjust himself, through acts and observances, to external forces. Religion then may be defined as the expression of the desire on the part of man to come into more perfect relations with the unknown powers of the universe. In explanation it may be said that the term "unknown powers is used because, as soon as natural forces are understood in the scientific sense, the observance of the laws passes out of the sphere of religious acts. For example, when the savage offers sacrifices to the god of thunder in order to protect his life, he is performing a religious act; but when civilized man tries to protect himself by the use of lightning rods, he is not performing a religious act. The phrase come into more perfect relations is necessarily a comprehensive one, for it must include acts most diverse, all of which are intended to adjust man to unknown powers. Primitive man may perform acts, which in later epochs seem absurd, for the purpose of frightening or charming spirits; the barbarian may perform acts of utmost cruelty; or the enlightened individual may undergo great sacrifices for the welfare of others; all with the same end in view. Finally, the term expression of the desire" is used because a mere vague longing for better adjustment which finds no objective expression cannot be included among the phenomena of religion.

Religion and Science. With this definition of religion as a point of departure, the relationships of religion to science and to art may be considered. Its relation to morality has already been indicated. Science and religion supplement each other. The one deals with the known and the other with the unknown; the instrument of the one is knowledge and of the other faith. As knowledge increases and as reason becomes more refined, the sphere of science enlarges and that of religion recedes. Science appears to be continually encroaching on religion as immediate

actions seem to be governed more and more by positive knowl. edge and less by superstitious beliefs. The question therefore naturally arises as to the permanence of religion as a social phenomenon. Will religion disappear altogether as positive knowledge increases? The answer is that religion will disappear only when man becomes omniscient, for only then will the unknown, which is the province of religion, vanish. Religion is a relationship between the finite and the infinite. God has no religion.

The idea that the sphere of religion narrows as knowledge advances should not be interpreted to mean that men become less religious. The boundaries of the known are extended and therefore a large number of our acts no longer have religious significance in their immediate performance. The progress of science has so altered our views concerning the material universe that in advanced religions the nature aspect has entirely disappeared leaving spiritual phenomena only as the province of religion, while material phenomena become the province of science. On the other hand, religion and science, separated over the explanation of material phenomena, seem destined to reunite on a new basis. A religious phase which is practically new begins to emerge as man comes to a full realization of the unity of all force. The boundary line between science and

. religion then becomes vague and the two may merge whenever the human and the material elements are both involved, science furnishing the method and religion supplying the motive. The motive is always of primary importance, but without knowledge it may become misdirected. For example, when rules of health were little understood hygienic practices were made a part of religious rites; but when the laws of health had been ascertained they could be followed from other than religious motives; or they could still be directed by religious sentiment on the basis that health, being one form of harmony, was indispensible for the attainment of complete harmony. In the last analysis the whole difference depends on whether man's philosophy begins with the infinite and interprets the finite from that point of view, or whether man's consciousness begins and ends in the material and the trivial.