Nietzsche was, and remains, one of the most profound of modern religious thinkers. It appears that it was only with great effort of will that he was able to tear himself away from religious belief; once he had done so, he could never return to his former naivete or--pace Paul Ricoeur--find his way to a "second naivete." At the same time, however, the pull of religion was ever present:
"Dangerous game. Whoever allows room in himself again for religious feeling these days must also allow it to grow: he cannot do otherwise. Then his nature gradually changes: it favors that which is dependent on or near to the religious element; the whole range of his judgment and feeling is befogged, overcast with religious shadows. Feeling cannot stand still: be on your guard" (Human, All Too Human, 121).
Unlike Richard Rorty, Nietzsche was not at all "religiously unmusical." He had the "ear" for it, and it was that very "ear" that made him, in the end, more effective than Rorty as a religious critic.
"Change of roles. As soon as a religion comes to prevail, it has as its enemies all those who would have been its first disciples" (Human, All Too Human, 118).
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