matters of sentiment. Moreover, I shall aim at estimating in the first
instance the kind and degree of influence which has been exerted by
Science upon Religion in the past, and then go on to estimate the
probable extent of this influence in the future. The first two papers
will be devoted to the past and prospective influence of Science upon
Natural Religion, while the third will be devoted to the past and
prospective influence of Science upon Revealed Religion[19].

Few subjects have excited so much interest of late years as that which I
thus mark out for discussion. This can scarcely be considered a matter
of surprise, seeing that the influence in question is not only very
direct, but also extremely important from every point of view. For
generations and for centuries in succession Religion maintained an
undisputed sway over men's minds--if not always as a practical guide in
matters of conduct, at least as a regulator of belief. Even among the
comparatively few who in previous centuries professedly rejected
Christianity, there can be no doubt that their intellectual conceptions
were largely determined by it: for Christianity being then the only
court of appeal with reference to all these conceptions, even the few
minds which were professedly without its jurisdiction could scarcely
escape its indirect influence through the minds of others. But as side
by side with the venerable institution a new court of appeal was
gradually formed, we cannot wonder that it should have come to be
regarded in the light of a rival to the old--more especially as the
searching methods of its inquiry and the certain character of its
judgements were much more in consonance with the requirements of an age
disposed to scepticism. And this spirit of rivalry is still further
fostered by the fact that Science has unquestionably exerted upon
Religion what Mr. Fiske terms a 'purifying influence.' That is to say,
not only are the scientific methods of inquiry after truth more