Aufklärung: revista de filosofia

This article reinterprets Charles Montesquieu’s conception of religion not as a peripheral theme in his political philosophy, but as a structural element of his broader reflection on power, law, and liberty. Against readings that portray Montesquieu either as a cautious defender of religious tradition or as an early secularist, this study argues that his position is better understood as a theory of moderation. For Montesquieu, religion is neither a transcendent truth to be imposed nor a mere illusion to be eliminated. It is a social force whose political significance depends on its relationship with institutions, customs, and forms of government. Through a close textual analysis of The Spirit of the Laws and Persian Letters, this article identifies three interconnected dimensions of Montesquieu’s understanding of religion: its moral function, its political ambivalence, and its susceptibility to historical variation. Religion can cultivate civic virtues, but it can also legitimize despotism. It can stabilize societies, but it can also radicalize them. These tensions are not anomalies in Montesquieu’s thought; they are its very foundation. By reconstructing Montesquieu’s reflections on religion within his broader theory of liberty, this article shows how his work anticipates contemporary debates on pluralism, secularism, and the limits of political authority. Rather than offering a doctrine of religious truth, Montesquieu provides a political anthropology of belief, one that remains strikingly relevant in an age marked by both religious resurgence and secular anxiety.