How did John Stuart Mill evaluate Auguste Comte’s positivism and religion of humanity?

In his 1865 work Auguste Comte and Positivism, John Stuart Mill evaluated the ideas of Auguste Comte by drawing a sharp distinction between his early philosophical doctrine and his later religious views.1

• Positivism: Mill commended Comte’s earlier philosophical doctrine of positivism. He viewed it as a natural development of the empirical tradition established by George Berkeley and David Hume, aligning with his own commitment to scientific methodology and the application of causation to social phenomena.21
• Religion of Humanity: Mill strongly attacked Comte’s later "religion of humanity." He rejected it as an unwelcome attempt to impose a priestly hierarchy upon society, viewing it as contrary to the principles of individual liberty and human development that he championed throughout his career.21

While both thinkers agreed on the possibility of a genuine social science, Mill’s critique highlights his fundamental commitment to individual autonomy against the dogmatic structures he perceived in Comte’s later system.21