Elizabeth Cady Stanton          SPEECHES & WRITINGS FILE            Article: "The Worship of God in Man", The Open Court n.d. With draft.

Worship of God in Man.     [no date]
by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
     As we have not yet reached the ultimatum of religious 
faith, it may be legitimate to ask:  What will the 
next step be?  As we are all alike interested in the 
trend of religious thought, no one should feel aggrieved 
in hearing his creed fairly analysed or in listening to 
speculations as to something better in the near future.
     As I read the signs of the times, I think the next 
form of religion will be the "Religion of Humanity," 
in which men and women will worship what they see 
of the divine in each other; the virtues, the beatitudes, 
the possibilities ascribed to Deity reflected in mortal 
beings.
     To stimulate our reverence for the great  Spirit of 
Life that sets all things in motion and holds them forever 
in their places, our religious teachers point us to 
the grandeur of Nature in all her works.  We tremble 
at the earthquake, the hurricane, the rolling thunder 

THE OPEN COURT.                        3851

and vivid lightning, the raging tempests by sea and 
land; we are filled with awe and admiration by the 
splendor of the starry heavens, the boundless oceans and 
vast continents, the majestic forests, lakes and rivers 
and snow-capped mountains, that in their yearnings 
seem to touch the heavens.  From all these grand and 
impressive forces in Nature we turn with relief to the 
gentle rain and dew, the genial sunshine, the singing 
birds and fragrant flowers, to the love and tenderness 
we find in every form of life; we see order and beauty, 
too, in the changing season, the planetary world, in 
the rising sun, moon and stars, in day with its glorious 
dawn and night with its holy mysteries, which altogether 
thrill with emotion every chord of the human 
soul.
      By all the wonders and mysteries that surround us, 
we are led to question the source of what we see, and 
to judge the powers and possibilities of the Creator by 
the grandeur and beauty of his works.
     Measuring man by the same standard, we find that 
all the forces and qualities the most exalted mind 
ascribes to his ideal God are reproduced, in a less 
degree, in the noble men and women who have glorified 
the race.
     Judging man by his works, what shall we say to 
the seven wonders of the world? of the Colossus of 
Rhodes, Diana's Temple at Ephesus, the Mausoleum 
at Halicarnassus, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Pharos 
at Alexandria, the hanging Gardens at Babylon and 
the Olympian Zeus. Yet, these are all crumbling to 
dust; but change is the law, too, in all Nature's 
works.
     The manifestation of man's power is more varied 
and wonderful as the ages roll on.  Who can stand in 
St. Peter's at Rome and listen to the deep-toned organ 
reverberating from arch to arch, with a chorus of 
human voices alike pathetic and triumphant in their 
hymns of praise, without feeling the divine harmony 
in architecture, poetry, and song?  And yet man, so 
small in stature, conceived and perfected that vast 
Cathedral, with its magnificent dome, strung every 
key in the grand organ to answer to a master's touch, 
and trained every voice in that great choir to melody, 
to perfect time and tune, -- a combination in grandeur 
surpassing far the seven wonders of the world.
     And what shall we say of the discoveries and inventions 
of the last fifty years, by which the labors of 
the world have been lifted from the shoulders of men, 
to be done henceforth by tireless machines? Behold 
the magnitude of the works accomplished by man in 
our own day and generation.  He has levelled mountains 
and bridged chasms; with his railroads he has 
linked the Atlantic and Pacific, the Rocky and Allegheny 
Mountains together; with steam and the ocean 
cable he has anchored the continents side by side, and 
melted the nations of the earth in one.  With electricity 
man has opened such vistas of wonder and 
mystery that scientists and philosophers stand amazed 
at their own possibilities; and in the wake of all these 
physical triumphs, we are startled with new mysteries 
revealed by psychical researches into what has hitherto 
been to us the unseen universe. 
     Man has manifested wisdom, too, as well as power.  
In fact, what cardinal virtue has he not shown, through 
all the shifting scenes of the passing centuries? The 
page of history glows with the great deeds of noble 
men and women.  What courage and heroism, what 
self-sacrifice and sublime faith in principle have they 
not shown in persecution and death, 'mid the horrors 
of war, the sorrows of exile, and the weary years in 
prison-life? What could sustain mortal men in this 
awful "solitude of self," but the fact, that the great 
moral forces of the universe are bound up in his organisation? 
What are danger, death, exile and dungeon 
walls to the great spirit of life incarnate in him?  
Our ideas of mankind, as "totally depraved," his 
morality "but filthy rags," his heart "deceitful above 
all things and desperately wicked," his aspirations 
"but idle dreams of luxury and selfishness" are so 
many reflexions on the Creator who is said to be perfect, 
and to have made man in his own image.
     The new religion will teach the dignity of human 
nature, and its infinite possibilities for development.  
Its believers will not remain forever in the valley of 
humiliation, confessing themselves in the Church 
service, on each returning Sabbath day, to be "miserable 
sinners" imploring the "good Lord to deliver 
them" from the consequences of violated law; but the 
new religion will inspire its worshippers with self-respect, 
with noble aspirations to attain diviner heights 
from day to day than they yet have reached.  It will 
teach individual honesty and honor in word and deed, 
in all the elations of life. It will teach the solidarity 
of the race, that all must rise or fall as one. Its creed 
will be Justice, Liberty, Equality for all the children of 
earth. It will teach our practical duties to man in 
this life, rather that our sentimental duties to God in 
fitting ourselves for the next life.
     A loving human fellowship is the real divine communion. 
The spiritual life is not a mystical contemplation of 
divine attributes, but the associative development 
of all that is good in human character.  The Old 
and New Testaments, which Christians accept as their 
rule of life, are full of these lessons of universal benevolence.  
"If you love not man whom you have seen, 
how can you love God whom you have not seen"?  
Jesus said to his disciples: "Whatsoever you have 
done unto these my brethren, you have done unto me."  
"When I was hungry you gave me meat; when naked

3852               THE OPEN COURT. 

you clothed me; when in prison, you ministered unto 
me".... When the young man asked what he should 
do to be saved, Jesus did not tell him he must believe
certain dogmas and creeds, but to "go and sell all that 
he had and give to the poor."

The prophets and apostles alike taught a religion 
of deeds rather than forms and ceremonies - "Away
with your new moons, your sabbaths, and your appointed  
feasts; the worship God asks is that you do 
justice and love mercy." "God is no respecter of 
persons." "He has made of one blood all the nations 
of the earth."

When the pulpits in our land preach from these 
texts and enforce these lessons, the religious conscience 
of the people will take new forms of expression 
and those who in very truth accept the teachings of 
Jesus will make it their first duty to look after the 
lowest stratum of humanity. 

To build a substantial house, we begin with the cellar, 
and lay the foundations strong and deep; for on 
it depends the safety of the whole superstructure. So 
in race building; for noble specimens of humanity, for 
peace and prosperity in their conditions, we must begin 
with the lowest stratum of society and see that the 
masses are well fed, clothed, sheltered, educated, 
elevated and enfranchised. Social morality, clean, 
pleasant environments, must precede a spiritual religion, 
that enables man to understand the mysteries binding
him to the seen and unseen Universe. 

This radical work cannot be done by what is called 
charity, but by teaching sound principles of political 
and domestic economy to our educated classes, showing 
them that by law, custom, and false theories of 
natural rights they are responsible for the poverty, 
ignorance and vice of the masses. Those who train 
the religious conscience of the people must teach the 
lesson that all these artificial distinctions in society, 
must be gradually obliterated, by securing equal conditions    
and opportunities for all. This cannot be done 
in a day; but this is the goal for which we must 
strive. 

The first step to this end, is to educate people 
into the idea, that such a moral revolution is possible. 

It is folly to talk of a just government and a pure 
religion, in a nation where the State and the Church 
alike sustain an aristocracy of wealth and ease, while 
those who do the hard work of the world have no 
share in the blessings and riches, that their continued   
labors have made possible for others to enjoy. Is it 
just that the many should ever suffer, that the few may 
shine? To reconcile men to things as they are, we 
have sermons from the texts, "Blessed are the poor in 
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven," "The 
poor ye have always with you," "Servants obey your 
masters," "Render unto Caesar the things that are 
Caesar's." As if poverty, servility, and authority were 
decrees of Heaven!

Such decrees will not do for our day and generation; 
the school master is abroad, Webster's spelling-book 
is a classic. The laboring classes have tasted the 
tree of knowledge and like the gods they begin to 
know good and evil. With new liberties and education
they demand corresponding improvements in 
their environments; as they reach new vantage-ground 
from time to time and survey broader fields of usefulness, 
they learn their rights and duties, their relations 
to one another, and their true place in the march
of civilisation. "Equal rights to all" is the lesson for 
this hour. 

"That cannot be," says some faithless conservative; 
"if you should distribute all things equally today, 
they would be in the hands of the few to-morrow."
Not if the religious conscience of the people was 
educated to believe that the way to salvation was not 
in creed and greed but in doing justice to their fellow-
men. Not if altruism instead of egoism was the law  
of social morals. Not if cooperation instead of competition 
was the rule in the world of work. Not if 
legislation was ever in the interests of the many rather 
than the few. Educate the rising generation into these 
broader principles of government, religion, and social 
life, and then ignorance, poverty, and vice will gradually 
disappear. The reconciliation of man to his brother is 
a more practical religion than that of man to his God; 
and the process is more easily understood. The word 
religion means to bind again, to unite those who have 
been separated, to harmonise those who have been in 
antagonism. Thus far the attitude of man to man has
been hostile, ever in competition, trying to overreach 
and enslave each other. 

With hope we behold the dawn of the new day in 
the general awaking to the needs of the laboring 
masses. We hail the work of the Salvation Army, the 
King's Daughters, the Kindergarten and industrial 
schools for the children of the poor, the University 
Settlement, etc. All these, added to our innumerable 
charities, show that the trend of thought is setting in 
the right direction for the health, happiness, and education 
of the lowest classes of humanity.

The interests of the race are so essentially one that 
all must rise or fall together. Our luscious fruits and 
fragrant flowers on tree and shrub must have rich soil 
and room for their roots to spread and find abundant 
nourishment; so the highest development of the best 
types of humanity must find their enduring soil in the 
cardinal virtues of the masses. "Blessed is the people 
which generation after generation has a school of 
prophets to call men back, with Isaiah-like yearning, 
to the love of the living God incarnate in man."      

 

  
 
 

Worship of God in Man
[Found '93] [no date]

As we have not yet reached
the ultimatum of religious
faith, it may be legitimate
to ask, what will the next
step be? As we are all alike
interested in the trend of
religious thought, no one
should feel aggrieved in 
hearing his creed fairly
analyzed, & speculations
as to something better in 
the near future.
     As I read the signs of
the times I think the next
form of religion will be the "Religion
of Humanity" [in] which men
and women will worship what

2
they see of the divine in each
other: the virtues, the beatitudes,
the possibilities ascribed to
Deity, [may then be] reflected
in immortal beings.
     To stimulate our reverence
for the great Spirit of Life
that sets all things in motion
and holds them forever in their
places, our religious teachers
point us to the [glory] grandeur of [his]
Nature in all her works.
We tremble at the earthquake,
the hurricane, the rolling
thunder & vivid lightening, the
raging tempests by sea & land;
we are filled with awe & admiration
by the splendor of the starry
heavens, the boundless oceans

3.
& vast continents, the majest[y]ic 
forests, lakes & rivers, & snow 
capped mountains that in 
their yearnings seem to touch 
the heavens. [From all these 
grand impressive forces in 
Nature we turn with relief 
to the gentle rain & dew, the 
genial sunshine, the singing 
birds & fragrant flowers, to 
the love & tenderness we find 
in every form of life. We see 
order and beauty, too, in the 
changing seasons, the planetary 
world, in the rising sun, moon 
& stars, in day with its glorious 
dawn & night with its holy 
mysteries, which [that] altogether [make]
thrill with emotion every chord 
of the human soul. 

4
By all the wonders & mysteries 
that surround us, we are led 
to question the source of what 
we see, & to judge the powers 
& possibilities of the Creator 
by the grandeur & beauty 
of his works. 
     [Judging] Measuring man by the 
same standard, we find 
that all the forces & qualities 
the most exalted mind 
ascribes to his ideal God, are 
reproduced, in a less degree in 
the noble men & women who 
have glorified the race. 
     [To] Judg[e]ing man by his works, 
what shall we say to the seven 
wonders of the world? of the

5
[The] Colossus of Rhodes,
Diana’s temple at Ephesus,
[The] Mausoleum at Halicarnassus,
 [The] Pyramids of Egypt,
[The] Pharos at Alexandria,
[The] hanging gardens at
Babylon &
[The] Olympian Zeus?
True, these [works] are all
crumbling to dust, but
change is the law too in
all Nature’s [works] works.
   The manifestation of
man’s power is more varied
& wonderful as the ages
roll on. Who can stand
in St Peter’s at Rome

6
& listen to the deep-toned
organ reverberating from
arch to arch. with a 
chorus of human voices
alike pathetic & triumphant
in their hymns of praise,
without feeling the divine
harmony in architecture,
poetry & song? And yet
man is so small in stature,
conceived & perfected that
vast cathedral, with its
magnificent dome, strung
very key in that grand organ
to [melody]. answer to a master
touch, & trained every voice in
that great choir to melody to
perfect time & tune, - [a] a
combination in grandeur
surpassing far the seven wonders
of the world.

7
And what shall we say of the
discoveries & inventions of the last
fifty years, by which the labors
of the world have been lifted
from the shoulders of men, to 
be done henceforth by tireless 
machines. Behold the magnitude
of the works accomplished by man
in our own day & generation.
He has levelled mountains &
bridged chasms; with his rail roads 
he has linked the Atlantic
& Pacific, the Rocky & Allegheny
Mountains together: with steam
& the ocean cable he has anchored
continents side by side, & melted the
nations of the earth in one. With
electricity man has offered such vistas
of wonder and mystery that scientists &
philosophers stand amazed at

8
at their own possibilities;
and in the [wake] wake of all these
physical triumphs, we
are startled [by] with new mysteries
revealed by psychical
researches into [the unseen
Universe] what has hitherto
been to us the unseen 
Universe.
     Man has manifested
wisdom too, as well as power.
In fact, which cardinal virtue
has he not shown, through
all the shifting scenes of the 
passing centuries? The page
of history glows with the great
deeds of noble men & women. 
What courage & heroism, what
self sacrifice & sublime faith:

9 
in principle have they not
shown in persecution & death, 
mid the horrors of war, the
sorrows of exile, & the weary
years in prison life?
     What could sustain 
mortal man in this
awful "solitude of self,"
but the fact, that the great
moral forces of the universe
are bound up in his 
organization? What are
danger, death, exile & dungeon 
walls to the great spirit of
life incarnate in [man] him? The
old ideas of [degrading "] mankind
as "totally depraved", his
mortality "but filthy rags,"
his heart "deceitful above all

               10-11
things & desperately [wicked] wicked,"
his aspirations "but idle
dreams of luxury & selfishness"
are so many reflections on
the Creator, who is said to
be perfect, [&] and to have made
man in his own image.
[The new religion will teach
the dignity of human nature,
& its infinite possibilities for
development. Its believers
will not remain forever in the
valley of humiliation, confessing
themselves in the church service,
on each returning Sabbath
day, to be "miserable sinners,"
imploring the "good Lord to
deliver them" from the consequences
of violated law; but 
the new religion will inspire its

12
worshippers with self respect,
with noble aspirations to
attain diviner heights from
day to day than they yet
have reached. It will teach
individual honesty & honor
in word & deed, in all the
relations of life. It will teach
the solidarity of the race that
all must rise or fall as one.
Its creed will be Justice,
Liberty, Equality, for all the
children of earth.
It will teach our practical
duties to man in this life,
rather then our sentimental
duties to God in fitting ourselves
for the next life. A loving
human fellowship is the 
real divine communion.

13
The spiritual life is not a
mystical contemplation
of divine attributes, but
the associative development
of all that is good in human
character. [The old & new
Testaments, which Christians accept
as their rule of life, are full
of these lessons of universal
benevolence. "If you love not
man whom you have seen,
how can you love God whom
you have not seen?" Jesus
said to his disciples: "Whatever 
you have done unto these my
brethren, you have done unto
me." "When I was hungry you
gave me meat; when naked, 
you clothed me; when in prison,
you ministered unto me."

14
When the young man asked
what he should do
to be saved, Jesus did not tell
him he must believe certain
dogmas & creeds, but to "go
& sell all that he had &
give to the poor."
The prophets & apostles alike
taught a religion of deeds
rather than forms & ceremonies.
"Away with your new moons,
your sabbaths & your appointed
feasts; [says Isaiah] the the worship
God asks is that you do
justice & love mercy." "God
is no respecter of persons."
"He has made of one blood
all the nations of the earth,"
[When the prophets in our
land preach from these
texts

15
& embrace these lessons, the
religious conscience of the
people will take new forms
of expression, & those who in
very truth accept the teachings
of Jesus, will make it their
first duty to look after the
lowest stratum of humanity.
   To build a substantial 
home, we begin with the cellar, &
lay the foundations strong
& deep; for on it depends the
safety of the whole superstructure
So in race building; for noble
specimens of humanity, for peace
& prosperity in their conditions, we
must begin with the lowest stratum
of society & see that the masses are
well fed, clothed, sheltered, 
educated, elevated & enfranchised
Social morality; clean
pleasant environments

16
must precede a spiritual
religion that enables man
to understand the mysteries
[that] binding him to the seen
& unseen Universe.
[And] [This radical work
cannot be done by what is
called charity, but by teaching
sound principles of political
& domestic economy, to our educated
classes, showing them that by
law, custom & false theories of
national rights [& the designs of Heaven],
they are responsible for the
poverty, ignorance, & vice of the
masses. Those who train the
religious conscience of the people
must teach the lesson that all
these artificial distinctions in
society, must be gradually

17
obliterated, by securing equal
conditions & opportunities for
all. This cannot be done in
a day; but this is the goal
for which we must strive.
The first step to this end, is 
to educate people into the
idea, that such a moral
revolution is possible. It is 
folly to talk of a just government
& a pure religion, in a nation
where the state & the church alike
sustain an aristocracy of wealth
& ease, while those who do the
hard work of the world have
no share in the blessings &
riches, that their continued
labors have made possible
for others to enjoy. Is it
just that the many should
ever suffer, that the few may
shine?

18
To reconcile men to things as
they are, we have sermons
form the texts. "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for their
is the kingdom of Heaven,"
"The poor ye have always
with you," "Servants obey
your masters" "Render unto
Cesar the things that are
Cesar's." As if poverty, servility,
& authority were decrees of
Heaven. [Such decrees
will not do for our day &
generation. The school master
is abroad. Websters spelling book is a classic. The laboring classes
have tasted the tree of
knowledge, & like the gods
they begin to know good
& evil. With new liberties 
& education they demand

19
they demand corresponding
improvements in their environments.
As they reach
new vantage ground from
time to time, & survey broader
fields of usefulness, they learn
their rights & duties, their 
relations to one another,
& their true place in the
march of civilization
"Equal rights to all," is the
lesson for this hour.
   "That cannot be," says 
some faithless conservative,
"if you should distribute all
things equally to day, they
would be in the hands of the
few to morrow." Not if the
religious conscience of the people
was educated to believe

20
that the way to salvation
was not in creed & greed, but in
doing justice to their fellow
men. Not if altruism instead
of egotism was the law of
social morals. Not if
cooperation instead of competition 
was the rule in
the world of work. Not if
legislation was ever in the
interests of the many rather
than the few. Educate
the rising generation with
these broader principles of
government, religion & social
life and their ignorance, poverty, &
vice will gradually disappear.
The reconciliation of man
to his brother is a more practical
religion, than that of man
to his God; & the

21
process is more easily understood.
The word religion means
to bind again, to unite those
who have been separated,
to harmonize those who have
been in antagonism. Thus 
far the attitude of man to
man has been hostile, ever
in competition, trying to
overreach & enslave each
other.
   With hope we behold
the dawn of the new day in
the general awakening to the
needs of the laboring masses
We hail the work of the
salvation army. The king's
daughters, the kindergarten
& ragged schools for the
children of the poor, the

22
[street university,] University
Settlement, etc.
All these added to our
innumerable charities show
that the trend of thought
is setting in the right
direction, the health, 
happiness & education of
the lowest classes of humanity
The interests of the race are so
essentially one that all
must rise or fall together.
Our luscious fruits & fragrant 
flowers on tree & shrub must
have rich soil & room for their
roots to spread & find abundant
nourishment; so the highest 
development of the best types

23
of humanity must find
their enduring soil in the
cardinal virtues of the 
masses. "Blessed is the
people which generation
after generation has a
school of prophets to call
men back with Isaiah
like yearning to the love
of the living God incarnate
in man"

Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.