"And, indeed, though they differ concerning other things, yet all agree in this: that they think there is one Supreme Being that made and governs the world, whom they call, in the language of their country, Mithras"
About this Quote
More’s move here is slyly diplomatic: he stages a society that looks radically unlike Christian Europe in its politics and customs, then makes sure its theology lands on reassuring ground. Utopia’s people “differ concerning other things,” but on the big metaphysical question they converge on a single “Supreme Being” who “made and governs the world.” That phrasing is doing careful work. It’s not the messy pantheon of classical paganism, not the chaos of atheism, not even the contentious tangle of sects More watched hardening across Europe. It’s the clean, rational monotheism a humanist statesman could present as “natural religion,” plausible to reason and safe enough for readers who might otherwise dismiss Utopia as heresy in costume.
The punch is the name: “Mithras.” More doesn’t pick a neutral placeholder; he chooses a real cult associated with the Roman world, secrecy, and soldierly fraternity, a rival to early Christianity that later Christians loved to cite as a counterfeit. Calling the same Supreme Being “Mithras” in “the language of their country” turns divinity into a translation problem. The subtext is provocative: if the highest God is one, the labels and rituals start to look local, even accidental. That’s an argument for tolerance smuggled into a travel narrative.
Context sharpens the stakes. Writing in an age when doctrinal error could cost careers, freedom, or lives, More builds a utopian thought experiment that praises religious plurality while anchoring it in providence and moral order. The line reassures censors and unsettles readers at the same time: belief can be shared, even when the vocabulary isn’t.
The punch is the name: “Mithras.” More doesn’t pick a neutral placeholder; he chooses a real cult associated with the Roman world, secrecy, and soldierly fraternity, a rival to early Christianity that later Christians loved to cite as a counterfeit. Calling the same Supreme Being “Mithras” in “the language of their country” turns divinity into a translation problem. The subtext is provocative: if the highest God is one, the labels and rituals start to look local, even accidental. That’s an argument for tolerance smuggled into a travel narrative.
Context sharpens the stakes. Writing in an age when doctrinal error could cost careers, freedom, or lives, More builds a utopian thought experiment that praises religious plurality while anchoring it in providence and moral order. The line reassures censors and unsettles readers at the same time: belief can be shared, even when the vocabulary isn’t.
Quote Details
| Topic | God |
|---|---|
| Source | Thomas More, Utopia, Book II — passage describing Utopian religion asserting one Supreme Being called Mithras (appears in standard editions/translations). |
More Quotes by Thomas
Add to List
