This study examines the influence of Kant on Hermann Cohen's philosophy of religion. A basic
tenet in Kantian philosophy of religion is that morality leads ineluctably to religion. But how
does morality lead to religion? While Cohen rejected Kant's doctrine of the postulates (of the
existence of God and the immortality of the soul) as it is formulated in Kritik der praktischen
Vernunft he searched for alternative ways to found a «religion of reason» in ethics. This book
concentrates on two routes from ethics to religion that are central to Cohen's philosophy of
religion in his two last works: Der Begriff der Religion im System der Philosophie (1915) and
Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums (posthumous 1919). One route takes
compassion towards the «concrete Other» which is complementary to an ethics of universal
respect as its point of departure and argues that an attitude of compassion and recognition
of the Other as a genuine individual presupposes a distinctive religious consciousness. The
other route is inspired by Kant's wrestling with the problem of removal of moral guilt in
Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der blossen Vernunft and centres around the questions of guilt
and liberation from guilt. Cohen's ideas and their continued relevance are explored in this
book in light of some major concerns of twentieth century and contemporary philosophy of
religion.
