Rousseau vehemently detested Catholicism and other institutionalized forms of Christianity, believing that mankind would be better off with a civil religion wedded to the state<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=IPZa0_Qx0koC&pg=PA16&dq=%22civil+religion%22+rousseau#PPA17,M1 ''Religion as a Public Good''], Alan Mittleman, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003 | Rousseau vehemently detested Catholicism and other institutionalized forms of Christianity, believing that mankind would be better off with a civil religion wedded to the state<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=IPZa0_Qx0koC&pg=PA16&dq=%22civil+religion%22+rousseau#PPA17,M1 ''Religion as a Public Good''], Alan Mittleman, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003 |