CHAPTER LVI.—INFIDELS UNDER THE ORIENTAL SYSTEMS,
It is an interesting and instructive historical fact, that in all religious countries,—Christian, heathen, and Mahomedan,—as the people become educated and enlightened, a portion of them improve the teachings of their Bible by new interpretations; while another portion, possessed of still more intelligence, abandon the book altogether, and become infidels to the prevailing religion of the country. I have spoken of the former class in another chapter. In this chapter I shall present a brief history of the latter class, who are known as infidels under different systems of religion. We find, by our historical researches, that in India, Egypt, Persia, Chaldea, China, Mexico, Arabia, &c., a portion of the people outgrow the religion of the country in which they have been educated. And it is an important fact, observable in all religious countries, that that portion of the population who become dissatisfied with the established religion of the country are the most intellectual, the most intelligent, and very generally the most moral also. We desire the reader to notice this, as it tends to prove that the cause of infidelity in all countries is intelligence and intellect, and to establish the converse proposition that the mass of people who adhere so rigidly to the religion in which they were educated are people of limited intellect, large veneration, and not very progressive by nature, and very generally have but little historical or scientific knowledge. They consequently have not observed the errors and defects of their religion, or its cramping and stultifying effect upon the mind, or its effect upon the morals of the country. They prefer having somebody else to do their thinking for them. This will be fully illustrated by the brief historical sketch we will now present of the practical operation of infidelity under several forms of religion.