John T. Scott is distinguished professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. He is the author most recently of Rousseau’s Reader: Strategies of Persuasion and Education, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

• List of AbbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1: Truth and UtilityChapter 2: The Theodicy of the Discourse on InequalityChapter 3: Pride and Providence in the Letter to VoltaireChapter 4: Psychic Unity and Disunity and the Need for ReligionChapter 5: Introduction to the “Profession of Faith”Chapter 6: The Theological Teaching of the “Profession of Faith”Chapter 7: The Critique—and Revival—of Religion in the “Profession of Faith”Chapter 8: On Civil ReligionConclusionAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"There is much more that could be said on this subject, of course, as on the many other aspects of Rousseau’s philosophy upon which Scott advances deeply insightful and thought-provoking interpretations. One of the many successes of Rousseau’s God is that it shifts the burden of proof onto those who think that the Vicar does represent Rousseau’s own views. Anyone wishing to defend that interpretation henceforth should either respond to Scott’s forceful challenges or conclude that Rousseau was inconsistent on topics of central importance to his thought."