Do we need religion to be good people? When Immanuel Kant tackled this question in 1793, he produced a book that remains a key text in the shaping of Western religious thought. Examining religious practices in relation to the Enlightenment movement—and its firmly held beliefs in the power of reason and personal liberty—Kant argues that God is fundamentally unknowable, and that human beings must therefore assume the responsibility of creating the Kingdom of God by acting morally. His views angered church and state alike, but Kant insisted that these increasingly intertwined spheres wielded too much power—power that he wanted to return to individuals.