The Virtue of Religion

Cicero thinks that the word religion derives from the Latin verb relegere, “to read over again,” and that it suggests the propriety of reading and pondering, again and again,on what belongs to divine worship. St. Augustine thinks that theword religion comes from religare, “to bind, or tie up,” and indicates the bond or tie between man and God. Whatever may be true of the origin of the word, religion means an ordering, a standing, a relationship between man and God.

Religion in a person is a virtue, that is, it is an enduring quality, a habit, which disposes him who has it to pay,steadfastly and well, the debt of honor and worship that he owes to God.

Religion is one virtue. For, though it has many and various acts, God is the object of them all.

Religion is a special virtue, distinct from other virtues, and it disposes man to give to God the special honor thatis his due. Therefore, though religion serves the ends of justice,and is one of its potential parts, it has its own definite field wherein to exercise and apply justice. Thus it is not identical with justice as such. Nor is it identical with any other virtue.

Religion is not a theological virtue, infused like faith, hope, and charity. It is a moral virtue. The theologicalvirtues have God himself as their object, whereas religion has as its object the honor, reverence, and worship due to God.

Religion is the chief of the moral virtues because its acts are directed immediately to God’s honor and glory, while the other moral virtues direct their acts to God through the medium of religion. Therefore, religion isnobler and more excellent than the other moral virtues.

Religion is expressed essentially by internal acts ofthe soul; secondarily, it is expressed by suitable external acts. Man is body-and-soul, and, during earthly life, the soul has anextrinsic dependence on the body, so that, for instance, the intellect cannot grasp reality without the cooperation of bodily senses. It is inevitable, therefore, that religion which honors God and thereby perfects the faculties of the human mind and will,should also, in some sense, perfect the bodily faculties as well. Hence, these bodily faculties have some expression of religion tomake; that is to say, religion will have expression, though in a secondary way, in external and bodily acts, in sensible signs,actions, and ceremonies.

Sanctity, which fundamentally means purity andsacredness under the law, is holiness. Now, holiness and religion come to the same thing. For it is by holiness that the human mind and will apply themselves to the service of God, and this is religion. Therefore, sanctity in a man and religion in a man arenot really distinct; they are distinct by a logical distinction, not by a real distinction; that is to say,they are two distinct aspects of the same thing.