The results thus obtained I have in the present work expanded by including in the survey the historic religions of the Old World, and submitted the whole for solution to the Laws of Mind, regarded as physiological elements of growth, and to the Laws of Thought, these, as formal only, being held as nowise a development of those. This latter position, which is not conceded by the reigning school of psychology, I have taken pains to explain and defend as far as consistent with the plan of this treatise; but I am well aware that to say all that can be said in proof of it, would take much more space than here allowed. The main questions I have had before me in writing this volume have an interest beyond those which mere science propounds. What led men to imagine gods at all? What still prompts enlightened nations to worship? Is prayer of any avail, or of none? Is faith the last ground of adoration, or is reason? Is religion a transient phase of development, or is it the chief end of man? What is its warrant of continuance? If it overlive this day of crumbling theologies, whence will come its reprieve? To such inquiries as these, answers satisfactory to thinking men of this time can, I believe, be given only by an inductive study of religions, supported by a sound psychology, and conducted in a spirit which acknowledges as possibly rightful, the reverence which every system claims. Those I propose, inadequate though they may be, can at any rate pretend to be the result of honest labor. PHILADELPHIA, _January, 1876_. CONTENTS. PAGE. CHAPTER I. THE BEARING OF THE LAWS OF MIND ON RELIGION 3 CHAPTER II. THE EMOTIONAL ELEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT 47 CHAPTER III. THE RATIONAL POSTULATES OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT 87 CHAPTER IV. THE PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER 117 CHAPTER V. THE MYTH AND THE MYTHICAL CYCLES 155 CHAPTER VI. THE CULT, ITS SYMBOLS AND RITES 199 CHAPTER VII. THE MOMENTA OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 231 THE BEARING OF THE LAWS OF MIND ON RELIGION SUMMARY. The distinction between the Science and the Philosophy of religion. It is assumed (1) that religions are products of thought, (2) that they have a unity of kind and purpose. They can be studied by the methods of natural science applied to Mind. Mind is co-extensive with organism. Sensation and Emotion are prominent marks of it. These are either pleasurable or painful; the latter _diminish_ vital motions, the former _increase_ them. This is a product of natural selection. A mis-reading of these facts is the fallacy of Buddhism and other pessimistic systems. Pleasure comes from continuous action. This is illustrated by the esthetic emotions, volition and consciousness.