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 434 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

make them important instruments of social control. But from the main stem branch off lines of belief that may be called eth- ical because of their aid in stimulating men to social conduct. One of these offshoots has already been considered in the paper entitled "Belief." I shall now examine another branch for which it has seemed best to reserve the word "religion." Be it understood from the outset that any historical religion, such as Buddhism or Judaism, contains several elements of eth- ical value other than the two just mentioned.

For the purposes of this paper, therefore, I take the social standpoint and define religion as the conviction of an ideal bond between the members of a society and the feelings that arise in conse- quence of that conviction.

The beginnings of this social religion carry us far back in the history of societies. Even in the most primitive groups, besides the restraints on one's self due to a prudent regard for consequences, there are other restraints imposed by fellow feel- ing. A natural basis for this feeling is afforded by long associa- tion from earliest childhood. Even carnivora of the same litter are gentle to each other, and the heart of primitive man is soft- ened by companionship. From the intercourse of housemates spring toleration, delight in each other's presence, comprehen- sion, consciousness of likeness, sympathy. But as such associa- tion is usually realized only in the case of brothers and sisters, blood kinship soon becomes identified with kindness in the reflections of early men. In consequence the feeling that springs up spontaneously among associates is transferred to all recognized kin.

This is conventionalized and becomes the basis of the first stable groups. By the blood covenant and the fiction of adop- tion this primitive tie is made elastic enough for practical pur- poses. "The commingling of blood by which two men become brothers or two kins allies, and the fiction of adoption by which

source d'un e*trange amour qui rejaillit souvent sur I'universalite' des creatures." Often in the ecstasy or yoga " il est pousse* par ses voix et ses joies inte"rieures a un de*voue- ment fe*cond envers ses freres, a une conception plus large de la famille humaine." La Logique Sociale, pp. 283, 284.