Phenomenology of Spirit

Hegel connects his previous chapters to religion by suggesting that consciousness has the goal of absolute essence, the ultimate reality that may be interpreted as the true and divine reality. Just as Spirit pervades all parts of community, religion is present in ethics and reason.

Hegel views religion as a higher realization of Spirit: “Consciousness, self-consciousness, Reason, and Spirit—return and have returned as into their ground, they together constitute the existent actuality and the totality of Spirit” (413). Like the other topics covered in the work, Hegel shows that religion has developed over time and continues to evolve toward self-awareness. As religion becomes more self-aware, the flaws in its universality become clearer and are reconciled through philosophy.

Hegel outlines three stages of religious consciousness: natural religion, the religion of art, and revealed religion.

Natural Religion

Natural religion is the most basic stage of religious consciousness. This stage occurs when Spirit recognizes itself as Spirit. This stage is still marked by division, as the divine is seen as separate from the individual. God is understood through the senses and natural forms; Hegel points to Zoroastrianism, which views God as light. Natural religion suffers from immediacy and superficial focus on sensory experience.