Priest or philosopher? The Ciceronian example of priesthood in the English Enlightenment debate on civil religion

Among the most notable champions of civil religion in the early eighteenth century were the group of radical intellectuals broadly identified as Freethinkers, including among their number John Toland, Anthony Collins, and Matthew Tindal. United in their commitment to a rational, natural religion, they nonetheless recognised the need for a public religion administered by the state. It is the innate contradiction in this position which will be explored in this article, which will examine how the arguments for a civil religion played out across the discourse as a scholarly conversation between heterodox and orthodox thinkers. The article will focus on one central controversy within the discourse, concerning the reading and representation of Cicero in his theological dialogues, De Natura Deorum and De Divinatione. How could Cicero the Philosopher, apparent sceptic and advocate of reason, be reconciled with Cicero the Priest, active participant in idolatrous and superstitious practices? It is through the confrontations and exchanges in this debate that this article will show how the vision of a civil religion evolved and was refined in eighteenth-century England.