Lord Kames's analysis of the natural origins of religion: theEssays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion(1751)

Abstract

This article investigates the discussion of the origins and development of religious belief within the Scottish jurist and philosopher Henry Home, Lord Kames's Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion (1751). Kames's work is argued to be a significant yet understudied contribution to the Scottish Enlightenment's examination of religion as a human phenomenon. The Principles contained one of the lengthiest analyses on the topic published by a Scottish literatus. In particular, Kames placed into a historical trajectory the internal sense theory's account of the non-rational origins of religious belief. In doing so, he provided an apologetic account of the progress from polytheism to monotheism resulting from the emergence of civil society, which set the tone for later Scottish discussions of religion.