“Religion” in the philosophy of I. Kant

The purpose of the study is to clarify the main issues of Kant’s doctrine of the phenomenon of religion through the prism of analyzing its aspects such as: the essence of religion; the relationship between religion and morality; the place of God in religion; types of religions; the relationship between religion and faith; the impact of religion on human development. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the implementation of a comprehensive, albeit brief outlining the fundamental components of the phenomenon of religion as interpreted by I. Kant. The author comes to the conclusion that «religion» in Kant’s interpretation means the fulfillment of one’s obligations by a person, which, due to his connection with God, acquires the status of divine commandments. This sphere is deprived of irrational, sensual components and strengthens the moral law in man. The goal of religion is to realize perfection, a perfect state of moral action through connection with the divine essence. Kant seeks to formulate certain “criteria” of true religiosity, in particular: imbued with a rational component; finding and following moral duties as divine commandments; the absence of collective forms of service and ritualism. As well as religion, faith in Kant’s interpretation is also of a moral nature. True moral faith, on the one hand, implies belief in the existence of God as a holy lawgiver, guardian of the human race and a righteous judge, and on the other hand, it is a belief in the possibility of becoming pleasing to God by leading a good life. One of the tasks of religion is the moral improvement of a person who leads to a position of pleasing God, a person’s dignity before Him. The idea of such improvement is inherent in the mind itself and is achieved through internal moral compulsion (fulfillment of duties as divine commandments). Perfection is not God’s assistance, but the result of merit, of human actions in the fulfillment of the moral law