Online Texts: David Hume, The Natural History of Religion
Hume’s The Natural History of Religion was first published in 1757. It was among the first attempts to account for the origins of theism in naturalistic terms. It can therefore be seen as a response to the argument that the sophistication of monotheism is such that it must have been handed down to men by God; Hume disputes this, giving a psychological explanation of the rise of refined monotheism, in just the same way as modern Darwinists give naturalistic explanations of the apparent teleology in nature that theists say can only be explained with reference to God.
I - That Polytheism was the Primary Religion of Men
III - The Same Subject Continued
IV - Deities not Considered as Creators or Formers of the World
V - Various Forms of Polytheism: Allegory, Hero-Worship
VI - Origin of Theism from Polytheism
VII - Confirmation of this Doctrine
VIII - Flux and Reflux of Polytheism and Theism
IX - Comparison of these Religions, With Regard to Persecution and Toleration
X - With Regard to Courage or Abasement
XI - With Regard to Reason or Absurdity
XII - With Regard to Doubt or Conviction
XIII - Impious Conceptions of the Divine Nature in Popular Religions of Both Kinds