Piety and Idolatry

By arguing that Piety can be natural as well as supernatural, Dewey, perhaps inadvertently, illuminates its fundamentally subjective character.  For, what he shows is that that an object is revered suffices to elevate it, regardless of its ontological status.  Thus, Piety is indistinguishable from Idolatry, i. e. devotion to a supernatural deity is structurally no different than awe of Nature, celebrity worship, and unconditional obedience to an institution.  Conversely, the existence of a supernatural deity does not necessarily suffice to command reverence for it, for, e. g. it might provoke defiance.  So, even Dewey's heterodox treatment of Piety suggests that perhaps the most common object of Piety is Piety itself.