Thefirstpointisthatweareofnecessityinabsoluteignoranceastoaposthumousstate。Now，fearisfromourearliestinfancythe’never-failingcompanionandoffspringofignorance。’Knowledgealonecanrescueusfromperpetualsuffering，becauseallsecuritydependsuponknowledge。Pain，moreover，isfarmore’pungent’anddistinctthanpleasure。’Wantandpainarenatural；satisfactionandpleasureartificialandinvented。’Pain，therefore，asthestrongest，willdictateouranticipations。Thehopeofimmortalityisbytheorthodoxdescribedasablessing；butthetruth，deduciblefromtheseprinciplesofhumannatureandverifiedbyexperience，isthatnaturalreligion，insteadofsoothingapprehensions，addsfreshgroundsofapprehension。Arevelation，as’PhilipBeauchamp’admits，mightconceivablydispelourfears；buthewouldobviouslysaythatthereligionwhichistakentoberevealedgivesafarmorevividpictureofhellthanofheaven。3Inthenextplace，itis’obviousatfirstsight’thatnaturalreligioncanproperlygive’noruleofguidance。’Itrefersustoaregionof’desperateandunfathomable’darkness。4Butitneverthelessindirectlysuggestsaperniciousrule。ItrestsentirelyuponconjecturesastothecharacteroftheinvisibleBeingwhoapportionspainorpleasureforinscrutablereasons。WillthisBeingbeexpectedtoapproveusefulorperniciousconduct?
Frommen’slanguagewemightsupposethatheisthoughttobepurelybenevolent。
Yetfromtheirdogmasitwouldseemthatheisacapricioustyrant。Howarewetoexplainthediscrepancy?Thediscrepancyistheinfallibleresultofthecircumstancesalreadystated。5TheDeityhaslimitlesspower，andthereforeisthenaturalobjectofourinstinctivefears。ThecharacteroftheDeityisabsolutelyincomprehensible，andincomprehensibilityinhumanaffairsisidenticalwithcapriceandinsanity。6TheendsandthemeansoftheDeityarealikebeyondourknowledge；andtheextremesbothofwisdomandoffollyareequallyunaccountable，Now，wepraiseorblamehumanbeingsinordertoaffecttheirconducttowardsus，toattractfavoursorrepelinjuries。Atyrantpossessedofunlimitedpowerconsidersthatbysimpleabstinencefrominjuryhedeservesboundlessgratitude。
Theweakwillonlydaretopraise，andthestrongwillonlyblame。Theslave-ownerneverpraisesandtheslaveneverblames，becauseonecanusethelashwhiletheotherissubjecttothelash。If，then，weregardtheinvisibleBeingasacapriciousdespot，and，moreover，asadespotwhoknowseverywordweutter，weshallneverspeakofhimwithoutthehighesteulogy，justbecauseweattributetohimthemostarbitrarytyranny。Hence，theinvisibledespotwillspeciallyfavourthepriestswhoselivesaredevotedtosupportinghisauthority，and，nexttopriests，thosewho，bythepracticeofceremoniespainfuloruselesstothemselves，showthattheirsoleaimistogivehimpleasure。Hewillspeciallydetesttheatheists，and，nexttoatheists，allwhoventuretodisregardhisarbitrarylaws。
Ahumanjudgemaybebenevolent，becauseheisresponsibletothecommunity。
Theygiveandcantakeawayhispower。Buttheinvisibleandirresponsiblerulerwillhavenomotivesforbenevolence，andapproveconductpernicioustomenbecauseitisthebestproofofacompletesubserviencetohimself。7Inspiteofthis，ithasbeengenerallyassertedthatreligionsuppliesamotive，andtheonlyadequatemotive，tomoralconduct。Butthedecayofreligionwouldleavethesourcesofpainandpleasureunchanged。Tosay，then，thattheconductprescribedbyreligionwoulddisappearifthereligiousmotiveswereremovedisvirtuallytoadmitthatitproducesno’temporalbenefit。’Otherwise，themotivesforpractisingsuchconductwouldnotbeaffected。Infact，moralityisthesameinallcountries，thoughtheinjunctionsofreligionarevariousandcontradictory。Ifreligionorderedonlywhatisuseful，itwouldcoincidewithhumanlaws，andbeatworstsuperfluous。Asafact，itcondemnsthemostharmlesspleasures，suchastheworstofhumanlegislatorshaveneversoughttosuppress。Peoplehavebecometolerant，thatis，theyhaverefusedtoenforcereligiousobservances，preciselybecausetheyhaveseenthatsuchobservancescannotberepresentedasconducivetotemporalhappiness。
Duty，again，maybedividedintodutytoGodanddutytoman。Our’dutytoGod’isa’deductionfromthepleasuresoftheindividualwithoutatallbenefitingthespecies。’
Itmustthereforebetakenasataxpaidfortheefficacysupposedtobecommunicatedtotheotherbranch——the’dutytoman。’8Doesreligion，then，stimulateourobediencetothecodeofdutytoman?’PhilipBeauchamp，admitsforoncethat，incertaincases，it’mightpossibly’
beuseful，itmightaffect’secretcrimes，’thatis，crimeswheretheoffenderisundiscoverable，that，however，isatrifle。Thesecases，hethinks，wouldbe’uncommonlyrare’underawell-conceivedsystem。Theextentofevilinthislifewouldthereforebetriflingweresuperhumaninducementsentirelyeffacedfromthehumanbosom，andif’humaninstitutionswereamelioratedaccordingtotheprogressofphilosophy。’9Ontheotherhand，theimaginarypunishmentsaresingularlydefectiveinthequalitiesuponwhichBenthamhadinsistedinhumanlegislation。Theyareremoteanduncertain，andtomakeupforthisarerepresentedasboundlessinintensityanddurability。Forthatreason，theypreciselyreversetheadmittedprinciplethatpunishmentshouldbesodevisedastoproducethegreatestpossibleeffectbythesmallestinflictionofpain。Supernaturalsanctionsaresupposedtomaximisepainwithaminimumofeffect，thefearofhellrarelyproducesanyeffecttillamanisdying，andtheninflictsgreatsuffering，thoughithasbeentotallyinefficientasapreventiveatthetimeoftemptation。
Theinfluenceofsupernaturalpenaltiesisthereforein’aninverseratiotothedemandforit，’10Inreality，theefficacyofthesanctionsisduetotheirdependenceuponpublicopinion。Ourrealmotiveforactingrightlyisourdesireforthepraiseofourfellowsandourinterestintheirgoodconduct。Weconcealthismotiveevenfromourselves，becausewewishtohavethecreditofservingtheDeityexclusively，thisisconfirmedbythefamiliarinstancesofaconflictbetweenpublicopinionandreligioussanctions。Duelling，fornication，andperjuryareforbiddenbythedivinelaw，buttheprohibitionisineffectualwhenevertherealsentimentofmankindisopposedtoit，thedivinelawissetasideassoonasitconflictswiththepopularopinion。Inexceptionalcases，indeed，thecreditattachedtounreasonablepracticesleadstofanaticism，asceticism，andeveninsanity，butsuperhumanterrorsfailatoncewhentheytrytocurbtheactionofgenuinesubstantialmotives。Hencewemustadmitthattheyareuselessinthecaseevenof’secretcrimes。’Religion，inshort，prescribesmischievouspractices，becomesimpotentexceptfortheproductionofmisery，andisreally，thoughnotavowedly，dependentonthepopularsanction。11
Wecannowclassifytheevilsactuallyproduced。Religioninjuresindividualsbyprescribinguselessandpainfulpractices；fasting，celibacy，voluntaryself-torture，andsoforth。Itsuggestsvagueterrorswhichoftendrivethevictimtoinsanity，anditcausesremorseforharmlessenjoyments。12Religioninjuressocietybycreatingantipathiesagainstunbelievers，andinalessdegreeagainsthereticsandnonconformists。Itpervertspublicopinionbymakinginnocentactionsblameable；bydistortingthewholescienceofmoralityandsanctioningtheheterogeneousdictatesofacertainblindandunaccountableimpulsecalledthe’moralinstinctorconscience。’13Moralitybecomesa’merecatalogueofreigningsentiments，’becauseithascastawaythestandardofutility。Aspecialaversiontoimprovementisgenerated，becausewhateverchangesourconceptionsofthe’sequencesofphenomena’
issupposedtobreakthedivine’lawsofnature。’’Unnatural’becomesa’self-justifying’epithetforbiddinganyproposedchangeofconduct，whichwillcounteractthe’designsofGod。’Religionnecessarilyinjuresintellectualprogress。Itdisjoinsbelieffromitsonlysafeground，experience，theverybasis，thebeliefinaninscrutableandarbitrarypower，sanctionssupernaturalor’extra-experimental’beliefsofallkinds。Yourejectinthecaseofmiraclesallthetestsapplicabletoordinaryinstruction，andappealtotrialbyordealinsteadoflisteningtowitnesses。Insteadoftakingthetroubletoploughandsow，youexpecttogetaharvestbyprayingtoaninscrutableBeing。Youmarrywithoutmeans，becauseyouholdthatGodneversendsachildwithoutsendingfoodforittoeat。Meanwhileyousuborn’unwarrantedbelief’bymakingbeliefamatterofrewardandpenalty。Itismadeadutytodwellupontheargumentsupononesidewithoutattendingtothoseupontheother，and，theweakertheevidencethegreaterthemeritinbelieving。’14Thetemperisdepravednotonlybytheantipathiesgenerated，butbythe’fitfulandintermittentcharacter’
oftheinducementstoconduct。15
Thefinalresultofallthisisstillmoreserious。Itisthatreligion，besideseachseparatemischief，’subsidisesastandingarmyfortheperpetuationofalltherest。’16Thepriestgainspowerasa’wonder-worker，’whoknowshowtopropitiatetheinvisibleBeing，andhasadirectinterestin’depravingtheintellect，’
cherishingsuperstition，surroundinghimselfwithmysteries，representingthewilloftheDeityasarbitraryandcapricious，andforminganorganised’arrayofhumanforceandfraud。’17Thepriesthoodsetsupaninfalliblehead，imposesupontheweakanddying，stimulatesantipathy，formsthemassof’extra-experimental’beliefsintothelikenessofascience，andalliesitselfwiththestate，Heresybecomesacrime。Therulerhelpstheprieststoraiseataxfortheirowncomfort，whiletheyrepayhimbysuppressingallseditiousopinions。Thusisformedanunholyalliancebetweentheauthoritiesof’naturalreligion’andthe’sinisterinterestsoftheearth。’Theallianceissocompletethatitisevenmoreefficientthanifithadbeenopenlyproclaimed。’Prostrationandplunderofthecommunityisindeedthecommonendofboth’priestsandrulers。Theonlychanceofdissensionisaboutthe’partitionofthespoil。’18
ThebookisascharacteristicoftheUtilitariansinstyleasinspirit。Itisterse，vigorousreasoning，withnomererhetoricalflourishes。Theconsequencesoftheleadingprinciplearededucedwithoutflinchingandwithoutreserve。Hadtheauthorsgiventheirnames，theywouldnodoubthaveexcitedantipathiesinjurioustothepropagandaofUtilitarianism。Theyheld，forthatreasonpresumably，thattheywerenotboundtopointouttheultimategoaloftheirspeculations。
Nointelligentreaderoftheirotherwritingscouldfailtoseewhatthatgoalmustbe；butan’opensecret’isstillformanypurposesarealsecret。
Whatevermightbethesuspicionsoftheirantagonists，theycouldonlybeaccusedofatendency。Thebookamountstoanadmissionthatthesuspicionswerewellfounded。Utilitarianism，theUtilitariansclearlyrecognised，logicallyimpliedtherejectionofalltheology。Religion——ontheirunderstandingoftheword——must，likeeverythingelse，betestedbyitsutility，anditwasshowntobeeitheruselessorabsolutelypernicious。TheaimoftheUtilitarianswas，inbrief，tobethoroughlyscientific。Themanofsciencemustbeopposedtothebeliefinaninscrutableagentofboundlesspower，interferingateverypointwiththelawsofnature，andaproductofthefancyinsteadofthereason。Suchaconception，sofarasaccepted，makesalltheoryofhumanconductimpossible，suggestsrulesconflictingwiththesupremeruleofutility，andgivesauthoritytoeverykindofdelusion，imposture，and’sinisterinterest。’