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cruel blow that can be offered to civil society is through atheism."
In
Burke's view atheism generally went hand-in-hand with political radical–
ism. He thought the Rational Dissenters, who believed in God but did not
believe in the divinity of Christ, were little better than atheists.
In
A Letter
to the Sherrifs
of
Bristol
(1777) Burke is clearly referring to the Rational
Dissenters when he attacks those who, "corrupting religion," have also
offered speculations that are "destructive to all authority...." According to
Burke, "they are endeavouring to tear up, along with practical liberty, all
the foundations of human society, all equity and justice, religion and
order."
Burke had no quarrel with those who were not religious so long as
they did not publicly attack religion. He grew to dislike David Hume
because Hume publicly attacked religion, but he remained on close terms
with the irreligious Adam Smith-Hume's close friend-because Smith
refrained from attacking religion in general (though in the
Wealth of
Nations
Smith argues that Roman Catholicism impeded political and eco–
nomic progress). Burke and Smith held each other in high esteem, even
though Smith disagreed with Burke about the importance of an estab–
lished church (he favored full religious liberty). When Burke was installed
as Lord Rector of Glasgow University in 1784, he spent several days with
Smith.
Some observers have argued that Burke's veneration for prescription,
by which he meant a respect for institutions that have worked reasonably
well for a long period of time, is at odds with Smith's praise of market
forces. Burke, however, did not regard prescription as a blanket defense of
the status quo. Prescription "is a presumption in favor of any settled
scheme of government against any untried project," but it is only a pre–
sumption. Burke was a reformer for much of his political career; he
opposed slavery, favored penal reform, and called for a great reduction in
the number of governmental sinecures. He also admired the
Wealth
of
Nations
and saw no contradiction between stressing the importance of pre–
scription and recommending the expansion of commerce. Though he
admitted that it was sometimes difficult to say where the line should be
drawn between the state and the market, he agreed with Smith that the
state played an essential role in promoting political stability. Burke's brand
of conservatism does differ from modern American conservatism, but not
as much as some liberals have suggested, for Burke wanted to cut back on
government and increase the scope of market forces.
In
the 1780s, Burke's reputation and standing in his party gradually
waned-especially after the death of Rockingham in 1782. The party,
which was now headed by Charles James Fox, soon grew tired of Burke's
effort to impeach Warren Hastings for his supposedly corrupt conduct as
