The Religion of Nature
Though I myself
am an atheist, I openly profess religion in the sense just mentioned, that is,
a nature religion. I hate the idealism that wrenches humanity out of nature; I am
not ashamed of my dependency on nature; I openly confess that the workings of
nature affect not only my surface, my skin, my body, but also my core, my
innermost being, that the air I breathe in bright weather has a salutary effect
not only on my lungs but also on my mind, that the light of the sun illumines
not only my eyes but also my spirit and my heart. And I do not, like a
Christian, believe that such dependency is contrary to my true being or hope to
be delivered from it. I know further that I am a finite moral being, that I
shall one day cease to be. But I find this very natural and am therefore
perfectly reconciled to the thought.
— Ludwig von Feuerbach (born July
28, 1804)
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