Introduction to Political Theory I: Plato to Rousseau Final Paper
In Chapter Eight of The Social Contract, Rousseau posits that good Christians cannot be good citizens, arguing that “far from attaching the Citizens’ hearts to the State, [Christianity] detaches them from it as from all earthly things.” (147) What does Rousseau mean by this claim, and why does he propose civil religion as a substitute for Christianity? To what extent do you find his views compelling?