Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason is a 1793 book by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Although its purpose and original intent has become a matter of some dispute, the book's immense and lasting influence on the history of theology and the philosophy of religion is indisputable. He strongly criticises ritual, superstition and a church hierarchy in this work.

Structure of the work

The book consists of four parts, called "Pieces" (Stücke), initially written as a series of four journal articles that were published separately at different times due to censorship issues starting with the second "piece". The general division of the book along with the subsections of each of the four parts is as follows:

Royal censorship

In February of 1792, Kant sent to J. E. Biester, the editor of the Berlinische Monatsschrift, an essay entitled "Concerning Radical Evil in Human Nature" and asked J. E. Biester to send the essay to the Berlin office of censorship for approval. The essay was approved after examination by G. F. Hillmer, the philosophy censor, who thought it was intended only for scholars and stated that "after careful reading, I see that this book, like other Kantian works, is intended for and can be enjoyed only by thinkers, researchers and scholars capable of fine distinctions". This essay then appeared as a Berlinische Monatsschrift article in April 1792 and became the first of four parts of a series on religion intended to be published in that same journal. Kant's attempt to publish the second part titled "Concerning the struggle of the good with the evil principle for dominion over the human being" in the same journal was opposed by King Friedrich Wilhelm II's censor in June of 1792 since the essay seemed to be theological to the censor. J. E. Biester filed a direct appeal to the King's cabinet after he saw nothing reprehensible in the second part, but the appeal was unanimously rejected by the King's cabinet. Kant then arranged to have all four pieces published as a book, routing it through the philosophy department at the University of Jena to avoid the need for theological censorship. Kant was reprimanded for this action of insubordination. When he nevertheless published a second edition in 1794, the censor arranged for a royal order that required Kant never to publish or even speak publicly about religion. On October 1, 1794, Kant received a royal letter and order, signed by the philosophical censor for the King, objecting to Kant's writings on religion and ordering him to avoid writing on religious topics. Kant complied with this royal order until after the death of King Friedrick William II and Frederick William III's ascension to the throne. He then resumed writing on religion with the publication of The Conflict of the Faculties in 1798.

Title meaning and translations

The book's title is based on a metaphor Kant introduces in the Prefaces and uses throughout the book, whereby rational religion is depicted as a naked ("bare") body while historical religions are regarded as "clothing" that are not appropriate "vehicles" for conveying religious truths to the populace. The earliest translation treats this metaphor literally: using "naked" ignores the fact that Kant's "bloßen" can also mean "mere". The most recent translation solves this problem by using the English "bare", which also has both meanings.

English translations