Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Montesquieu's Point of Departure Montesquieu's New Beginning The New Conception of the Laws and the State of Nature Human Nature at Its Core Natural Society as the State of War Montesquieu's New Political Science Chapter Two: The Theological Significance of Despotism The Nature and Principle of Despotism The Strangeness of the Presentation of Despotism Despotism and Revealed Monotheistic Law The Hypothesized Origin of Biblical Religion The Hypothesis Applied to Islam The Hypothesis Elaborated as Regards Christianity Chapter Three: The Theological Significance of Republics and Monarchies Republican Religiosity Monarchy and Its Religiosity Why Christianity Is So Powerful in Monarchic Europe Montesquieu's Educational Strategy Chapter Four: From Classical Civil Religion Modern Liberal Religion Republican Slavery The Commercial Republic and Its Religiosity Liberal Constitutionalism and Its Religiosity The Application of the Standard Found in England Chapter Five: Commerce and the Great Theological Experiment Commerce as Engine of Religious Liberation The Rational Redemption of Christianity Commerce and Despotism Montesquieu's "Prophetic Vision" Concluding Critical Reflections Notes Works Cited Index.