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Immanuel Kant's teachings on religion were unorthodox in that they were based on reason rather than revelation. Although logically proving God's existence might be impossible, Kant argued that it is morally reasonable to "act as if there be a God." His strictly rational approach was considered so scandalous that the King of Prussia forbade him to teach or write further on religious subjects, an order Kant obeyed until the king's death.

A work of major importance in the history of Western religious thought, Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone represents a great philosopher's attempt to spell out the form and content of a religion that would be grounded in moral reason and also meet the needs of an ethical life.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was born in K nigsberg, Prussia, where he remained his entire life. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the modern age, known for his groundbreaking perspectives in metaphysics and his transcendental idealist philosophy. Among his enduring works are: Critique of Pure Reason, Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone, Critique of Practical Reason, and Metaphysics of Morals.

"One of the most interesting and most human of Kant's works. Although Kant speaks in the language of the eighteenth century, he is wrestling with problems which force themselves on us today-unless we dismiss all religion as pathological or swallow it blindly at the behest of some external authority."--H.J. Paton, author of Groundwork of Kant's Metaphysics of Morals