Abstract
THE vision of a universe in evolution has shown men that what had been accepted as absolutes are in several cases by-products of evolution. Old beliefs are increasingly relegated to the domain of folklore survivals, and the effects of this upon motive power in personal and social conduct are major factors of the present crisis in world affairs. Having been so long accustomed to accept an absolute basis which has now been undermined, men have hastily sought a new absolute, and some think they have found it in the State, which is being made an object of worship. This growth of State worship has come earlier on the Continent than in Britain, for we have pursued our traditional policy of finding a compromise that postpones the crises due to insoluble problems. Evangelical and tractarian movements have had influences of this kind on British life; they have counted for much less on the Continent. Again, State worship has grown with the acceleration of production and communications, a process that has given rise to an uncomfortable feeling of jostling and trade-pressure. We have attained to an anarchy of sovereign States and understand one another too little.
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FLEURE, H. Cultural Significance of Anthropological Studies. Nature 144, 697–699 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144697a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144697a0