Viscount Amberley, father of Bertrand Russell, sets out to compare the outward forms of religion across cultures, drawing on Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Chinese, Hindu, Jewish and Christian sources. He examines sacred rites, priesthoods, prayer and the authority claimed by scriptures, then weighs the doctrines themselves, arguing for a faith freed from revelation and dogma.
Published posthumously in 1876 and controversial in its day, it remains a striking document of Victorian free thought. Download the free EPUB.