10.   If  an  Integral  Part  of  the  Believer's  Philosophy

In  the  category  of  opinions  not  wholly  rational
must  be  classed  the  faith  of  most  persons  in  the
dogmas  of  the  religious  bodies  to  which  they  belong.
In  such  cases  one  might  suggest  that  a  man  has
in  reality  an  opinion  about  his  church,  and  not
about  the  particular  tenets  which  he  accepts  on
its  authority.  But  this  is  by  no  means  always  true,
because  in  fact  he  accepts  the  doctrines  and  the
church  itself  for  much  the  same  reason.  Both  of
them  form  part  of  what  the  Germans  call  his  Welt-
anshauung,  his  general  point  of  view.  They  fit
into  his  conception  of  the  universal  fitness  of  things,
and  hence  they  are  woven  into  the  very  texture
of  his  mind  and  are  not  easily  changed.  If  held
universally  in  a  community,  or  nearly  so,  they  are
an  integral  part  of  the  civilization  of  the  people.
If  held  only  by  a  considerable  portion  of  the  people.
20  The  Nature  of  Public  Opinion        [§  10

they  are  an  integral  part  of  the  civilization  of  that
portion.
