Liberty and Compulsory Civil Religion in Rousseau's Social Contract

This essay examines Rousseau's mandatory civil religion as it is set out in the Social Contract, with recent relevant philosophical work as a primary frame of reference. Section I discusses what exactly Rousseau is proposing. Section a reviews why he thinks this "civil profession of faith" is necessary, and considers the underlying anthropology and moral psychology. Section 3 explores whether Rousseau's social contract theory coheres with the civil religion. That is a question of the internal consistency of the Social Contract, and I attempt to put forth a fresh perspective on that problem.