Kant: A Biography

382 Kant: A Biography

This was not the only criticism of the policies of "His Majesty." Kant
also asked whether any government could "confer on a mystical sect the
sanction of a church, or could it, consistently with its own aim, tolerate
and protect such a sect, without giving it the honor ofthat prerogative?"^209
The answer, for Kant, was of course: "No." Kant's arguments for this
conclusion are subtle, and some of them derive their strength from his
conception of religion as universal and necessary because based on pure
practical reason. His idea of a "sect" may be idiosyncratic, but his con¬
clusion is clear and unmistakable. It is wrong for a ruler to favor any one
sect. Most of all, it is wrong to elevate mystical hocus-pocus to the level of
a state-sanctioned view. Pietism, which provides a "completely mystical"
solution to the problem of religion and morality, should therefore not be
favored.^210 Orthodoxy, which declares "belief in dogma to be sufficient for
religion" and therefore places only secondary importance on morality, is
also inappropriate. "But it is superstition to hold that historical belief is
a duty and essential to salvation."^211 Mysticism, because it is a private
affair, which "has nothing public about it," should be of the least concern
to the government. Therefore it should be entirely outside the government's
sphere of influence.
Kant did not go as far as the founders of the United States in minimiz¬
ing the role of religion in the state. He believed — or at least he claimed to
believe — that Christianity is necessary. Still, Christianity for Kant was noth¬
ing but the clearest expression of the Idea of Religion in general, and there¬
fore it was commendable as a moral religion. He was opposed to anything
having to do with the particular customs and historical origins of this faith,
and he felt those matters should be left to the individual. This was a view
that was radically opposed to that of Frederick William II and his ministers,
as Kant well knew.^212 Kant's destiny was tied closely to Berlin — for better
or worse. He was not just a passive observer of what happened in Prussia,
but an active political player - and he knew how to play his cards.

Perpetual Peace: "The Theoretical Politician as an Academic"

In December of 1795, one of Hippel's friends wrote:

I have just read the Religion and the Politics (Politik) of our most illustrious, and this
with care and respect. He probably will not get for his newest political writing (Toward
Eternal Peace) a golden box with diamond inlay - and he most likely gave it up before¬
hand. But I am happy (and almost amazed) that there is so much political tolerance in
our native fatherland; and this especially since his basic principles (of form and non-