The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-06-28
NJ. REMAINS NEW IDEAS.
His Views ON Prayer, ON the Religious Cues
ton in France and on Education.


His Views ON Prayer, on the Religious Cues
ton in France and on Education.
Paris Letter
NJ. Ernest Renan will shortly publish a series
of studies in religious history relative to the
beliefs of antiquity, of the middle ages and of
the East The volume will be preceded by a
preface in which NJ. Renan remarks the progress
made by the public mind since the time when he
published his first studies, twenty five years ago
studies which were hailed with curses and which
covered their author with anathemas. Time,
says III. Keenan, is a necessary collaboration of
reason the great thing is to know how to wait
To show how the public mind has progressed, NJ.
Renan reproduces a few pages which he former
ly wrote on Calico the greatest man that ever
existed in the order of truth:
People express establishment, sometimes, because
Galileo little weak and consented to retPaet
erroneous propositions which he knew to be true The
fact is that Calico that his death would in no way
help the demonstration of these eerttudes. Men be-
come martyrs only for things of which they not
quite When we have acquired the truth there is
in making show of zeal Truth does not need
to be proclaimed it is sufficient to enuneate it. These
methods which thirty years ago declared by all
routines to be frivolous and dangerous have become
lawsfor all minds. This truth, nothing supernatu-
al takes place in the world accessible to the expe-
renee of man. imposes itself more and more
the conscience of the human race. The
human race is coming to pray less and
less, for it knows very well that prayer
ever followed by any effect. Il take prayer in the
binary sense of request addressed to heaven for
special object and not IN the sense OF meditation
Testimony proves nothing in question of this kind
If there be any divinity whose power is established by
documents apparently irrefutable it is the goddess
Rabbat Tanit of Carthage. Nearly 5000 stella attest
made to this goddess have been dug up most
of them in the National Library OF Paris; all
state that Rahbat Tanit heard the prayer that was
addressed to her. Well these 3 1000 testimonials of
prayer having attained its end are assuredly mis-
taken. Rahbat Tanit being false divinity, could
is proven because in inny of cases quinne or it's
equivalents have changed the of fever. Has
that ever been proved of prayeri No. certainly. And
yet the thing is easy to experiment upon for millions
of prayers daily addressed to heaven.
After this demolition of prayer the reader may
ask how NJ. Renan proposes to satisfy the relig-
lous cravings of man, the need that man feels of
prostrating himself before superior ideal The
theory, he admits, is obscure and will remain
for the future to elaborate. The need undoubt-
eddy exists, and the practice is evident. Relig-
ion ought to be a matter as free and individual
as art, literature OF taste, and utterly outside of
state interference The ideal would be to have
no single special law on religious matters any
more than there are laws to regulate costumes,
reading or the private amusements of citizens.
| This ideal is already half realized in France,
since man can enjoy all his rights as French
man without belonging to any religion at all.
Says NJ. Renan:
further statement remains to be TAKEN which is
the suppression OF the budgets Of public worship aud
logical and it is revolution which will be &C
compished, for am convinced that, in spite of many
contrary appearances, the future in Europe is for
liberty. The state. conceived in the modern fashion
simple guarantee of order for the exercise of in
dividual activity, has no more reasons for having
concordats with religions than for having eoneordats
with romantiesln, realism, classcism, any
other opinion which it is permissible to hold
hold But the denunciaton of the concordats would
pre-suppose good law associations and founia
TONS and the legal existence of moral personal
tiles But such law does not exist; but the demo-
cratic party seems by means disposed to vote it.
The model would have to be sought in England, in
the liberal States of North America. Neither the
anti-cerical democrats the Catholic party will
have any such solution The anti clerical party wish
to suppress the privileges of the clergy without giving
them in exchange the right to organize themselves
they think fit. The Catholic party demand all the
privileges of the Napoleonic coneordat without ac-
eepting its charges. They want to be free as in
America and official they have been accustomed to
be in France
In reality, the present state of religious legis
laton, although very incoherent gives a suf-
icient amount of liberty to all, concludes NJ
Renan ard as the present time is unsuited for
grand reforms, it is best not to demand funda-
mental changes, which might lead to grave dis
advantages; slight reforms in detail are sufficient
for the moment.
Looking to the future, NJ. Renan admits that
strong religious reactions are possible but never
a return of fanaticism The best guarantee of
liberty is the general progress of enlightenment
He says;
Belief in the supernatural will be undermined
slowly by primary instruction and by the predomi-
nance of scientific literary education These two
facts not the result of such and such pot-
ical regime, of true fae theories propagated
by pubhcsts; they the consequence of the march
of modern societies toward state where the indvid
ual in, order to live needs certain positive nstrue-
ton Formerly the peasant who neither knew how to
read to write count stH able TO live protected
by patronage and by sort of generally difused
patriarchal spirit. Now the struggle for life con-
dennis individual placed in such conditions to die
of hunger. In the same way the who has studied
Greek and Latin, but who does not know geography
the elements of science, and the living languages, will
become less well armed in the struggle for life than
the man who has modern, eoarser, and more
practical education The classical education will as
sure a superiority only to those who wish to write
that is TO say very small number. So the usual and
common education which will become that of the
multitude will be less conservative of the supernatur
al beliefs than the old humanism which cared little
whether phrase was true false, provided it were
well turned.