Wolfgang Jagodzinski and Karel Dobbelaere
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294757
- eISBN:
- 9780191599040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294751.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The argument that ethical pluralism requires new forms of governmental process to manage a changed consensus about fundamental societal values and norms rests on a key premiss that there really ...
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The argument that ethical pluralism requires new forms of governmental process to manage a changed consensus about fundamental societal values and norms rests on a key premiss that there really exists a pluralism of religious beliefs and ethical norms in modern societies. This chapter examines the evidence for this premiss, and concludes that while it does reveal a tendency towards increasing religious and ethical pluralism, the trend is by no means as universal as has often been suggested. Furthermore, it is ambiguous whether disparities between religious and ideological groups will assist or hinder democratic governability.Less
The argument that ethical pluralism requires new forms of governmental process to manage a changed consensus about fundamental societal values and norms rests on a key premiss that there really exists a pluralism of religious beliefs and ethical norms in modern societies. This chapter examines the evidence for this premiss, and concludes that while it does reveal a tendency towards increasing religious and ethical pluralism, the trend is by no means as universal as has often been suggested. Furthermore, it is ambiguous whether disparities between religious and ideological groups will assist or hinder democratic governability.
Karel Dobbelaere and Wolfgang Jagodzinski
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294757
- eISBN:
- 9780191599040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294751.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter assesses the variances of socio‐political impact across Western European societies of the religious secularization effected by cultural rationalization, with particular regard to ...
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This chapter assesses the variances of socio‐political impact across Western European societies of the religious secularization effected by cultural rationalization, with particular regard to education and gender. The evidence indicates that the impact is more nuanced than trends in the behavioural component (the incidence of church‐going discussed in Ch. 4) would suggest.Less
This chapter assesses the variances of socio‐political impact across Western European societies of the religious secularization effected by cultural rationalization, with particular regard to education and gender. The evidence indicates that the impact is more nuanced than trends in the behavioural component (the incidence of church‐going discussed in Ch. 4) would suggest.
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195309379
- eISBN:
- 9780199786688
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309379.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter examines some of the religious beliefs and values that are part of the world views of emerging adults. Both the diversity of emerging adults' beliefs and their common determination to ...
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This chapter examines some of the religious beliefs and values that are part of the world views of emerging adults. Both the diversity of emerging adults' beliefs and their common determination to think for themselves with regard to religious issues are explored, along with their responses to two questions concerning their values for their own lives and the values they wish to pass on to the next generation. Together, these two questions provide an outline of the extent to which emerging adults' values reflect individualism and collectivism.Less
This chapter examines some of the religious beliefs and values that are part of the world views of emerging adults. Both the diversity of emerging adults' beliefs and their common determination to think for themselves with regard to religious issues are explored, along with their responses to two questions concerning their values for their own lives and the values they wish to pass on to the next generation. Together, these two questions provide an outline of the extent to which emerging adults' values reflect individualism and collectivism.
Caroline Franks Davis
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250012
- eISBN:
- 9780191681233
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250012.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically ...
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This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically addresses underlying philosophical issues such as the role of interpretation in experience, the function of models and metaphors in religious language, and the way perceptual experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. The book examines several arguments from religious experience and, using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, gives an account of the different types of experience. To meet sceptical challenges to religious experience, the book draws extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical and religious literature, probing deeply into questions such as whether religious experiences are merely a matter of interpretation, whether there is irreducible conflict among religious experiences, and whether psychological and other reductionist explanations of religious experience are satisfactory. The book concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources.Less
This book provides an assessment of the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious beliefs. Going further than an ‘argument from religious experience’, the inquiry systematically addresses underlying philosophical issues such as the role of interpretation in experience, the function of models and metaphors in religious language, and the way perceptual experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. The book examines several arguments from religious experience and, using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, gives an account of the different types of experience. To meet sceptical challenges to religious experience, the book draws extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical and religious literature, probing deeply into questions such as whether religious experiences are merely a matter of interpretation, whether there is irreducible conflict among religious experiences, and whether psychological and other reductionist explanations of religious experience are satisfactory. The book concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources.
Keith Ward
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263051
- eISBN:
- 9780191734090
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263051.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter discusses the study of religions. The first section attempts to define the term ‘religion’, and shows that specific definitions of religion clearly express the inclinations of their ...
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This chapter discusses the study of religions. The first section attempts to define the term ‘religion’, and shows that specific definitions of religion clearly express the inclinations of their propagators. The patterns of religion are examined, followed by a discussion of the various anthropological approaches. The phenomenological approach and social theories of religion are studied, along with reasons and religious belief. The problem of religious diversity is discussed in the latter portion of the chapter.Less
This chapter discusses the study of religions. The first section attempts to define the term ‘religion’, and shows that specific definitions of religion clearly express the inclinations of their propagators. The patterns of religion are examined, followed by a discussion of the various anthropological approaches. The phenomenological approach and social theories of religion are studied, along with reasons and religious belief. The problem of religious diversity is discussed in the latter portion of the chapter.
Paul Helm
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199256631
- eISBN:
- 9780191698330
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256631.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book studies the nature of religious faith, investigating what makes it reasonable. Religious belief needs to meet and sustain philosophical scrutiny just as any other type of belief does; ...
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This book studies the nature of religious faith, investigating what makes it reasonable. Religious belief needs to meet and sustain philosophical scrutiny just as any other type of belief does; nothing about religion purchases immunity from this. But at the same time religious epistemology must also respect the contours of religion, the distinctiveness of the subject-matter of religious belief. The book looks sympathetically at two currently prominent ways of defending the rationality of religious belief: ‘Reformed’ epistemology and the cumulative case for theism. It argues that the reasonableness of faith depends not only on beliefs about the world but also on beliefs about oneself (for instance about what one wants, about one's hopes and fears) and on what one is willing to trust. The book goes on to look at the relations between belief and trust, and between faith and virtue, and concludes with an exploration of one particular type of belief about oneself, the belief that one is oneself a believer.Less
This book studies the nature of religious faith, investigating what makes it reasonable. Religious belief needs to meet and sustain philosophical scrutiny just as any other type of belief does; nothing about religion purchases immunity from this. But at the same time religious epistemology must also respect the contours of religion, the distinctiveness of the subject-matter of religious belief. The book looks sympathetically at two currently prominent ways of defending the rationality of religious belief: ‘Reformed’ epistemology and the cumulative case for theism. It argues that the reasonableness of faith depends not only on beliefs about the world but also on beliefs about oneself (for instance about what one wants, about one's hopes and fears) and on what one is willing to trust. The book goes on to look at the relations between belief and trust, and between faith and virtue, and concludes with an exploration of one particular type of belief about oneself, the belief that one is oneself a believer.
Genia Schönbaumsfeld
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199229826
- eISBN:
- 9780191710766
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229826.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Cursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the ...
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Cursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the relationship between their ideas. This book attempts both to close this gap and to offer important independent readings of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's conceptions of philosophy and religious belief. Chapter 1 carefully documents Kierkegaard's influence on Wittgenstein, while Chapters 2 and 3 provide trenchant criticisms of two prominent attempts that have been made to compare the two thinkers — those of D. Z. Phillips and James Conant. Chapter 4 develops Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's concerted criticisms of certain standard conception of religious belief, and defends their own positive conception against the common charges of ‘fideism’ and ‘irrationalism’. As well as contributing to the contemporary debate about how to read Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's work, this book addresses issues of central concern not only to scholars of Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard, but to anyone interested in issues surrounding the philosophy of religion, or the ethical aspects of philosophical practice as such.Less
Cursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the relationship between their ideas. This book attempts both to close this gap and to offer important independent readings of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's conceptions of philosophy and religious belief. Chapter 1 carefully documents Kierkegaard's influence on Wittgenstein, while Chapters 2 and 3 provide trenchant criticisms of two prominent attempts that have been made to compare the two thinkers — those of D. Z. Phillips and James Conant. Chapter 4 develops Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's concerted criticisms of certain standard conception of religious belief, and defends their own positive conception against the common charges of ‘fideism’ and ‘irrationalism’. As well as contributing to the contemporary debate about how to read Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's work, this book addresses issues of central concern not only to scholars of Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard, but to anyone interested in issues surrounding the philosophy of religion, or the ethical aspects of philosophical practice as such.
Corey Brettschneider
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147628
- eISBN:
- 9781400842377
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147628.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter focuses on the freedom of religion. On some accounts of religious freedom, religious beliefs deserve a presumptive protection from state influence. The chapter argues against such ...
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This chapter focuses on the freedom of religion. On some accounts of religious freedom, religious beliefs deserve a presumptive protection from state influence. The chapter argues against such “static” views of religious freedom, and claims that rights should not entail the absence of public justification. Not only are some religious beliefs publicly relevant, but the state should seek to transform them through its persuasive capacity. In making this argument, the chapter appeals to the ideal of religious freedom itself. Some religious conceptions are at odds with the ideal of religious freedom—suggesting that religious freedom itself requires an account of the public relevance of hateful religious beliefs and a role for state transformation in the realm of religion.Less
This chapter focuses on the freedom of religion. On some accounts of religious freedom, religious beliefs deserve a presumptive protection from state influence. The chapter argues against such “static” views of religious freedom, and claims that rights should not entail the absence of public justification. Not only are some religious beliefs publicly relevant, but the state should seek to transform them through its persuasive capacity. In making this argument, the chapter appeals to the ideal of religious freedom itself. Some religious conceptions are at odds with the ideal of religious freedom—suggesting that religious freedom itself requires an account of the public relevance of hateful religious beliefs and a role for state transformation in the realm of religion.
Michael C. Banner
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198240198
- eISBN:
- 9780191680113
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198240198.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science
Believers and non-believers often take it for granted that traditional religious faith is, in principle, incapable of the sort of justification which might be given to a scientific theory. Yet how ...
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Believers and non-believers often take it for granted that traditional religious faith is, in principle, incapable of the sort of justification which might be given to a scientific theory. Yet how are scientific theories justified and is it the case that religious belief cannot satisfy the same standards of rationality? Based on a critical examination of recent accounts of the nature of science and of its justification given by Kuhn, Popper, Lakatos, Laudan, and Newton-Smith, this book contends that models of scientific rationality which are used in criticism of religious belief are in fact often inadequate as accounts of the nature of science. It is argued that a realist philosophy of science both reflects the character of science and scientific justification, and also suggests that religious belief could be given a justification of the same sort.Less
Believers and non-believers often take it for granted that traditional religious faith is, in principle, incapable of the sort of justification which might be given to a scientific theory. Yet how are scientific theories justified and is it the case that religious belief cannot satisfy the same standards of rationality? Based on a critical examination of recent accounts of the nature of science and of its justification given by Kuhn, Popper, Lakatos, Laudan, and Newton-Smith, this book contends that models of scientific rationality which are used in criticism of religious belief are in fact often inadequate as accounts of the nature of science. It is argued that a realist philosophy of science both reflects the character of science and scientific justification, and also suggests that religious belief could be given a justification of the same sort.
Michael C. Banner
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198240198
- eISBN:
- 9780191680113
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198240198.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science
This chapter discusses religious faith and the differences between scientific belief and religious belief. The chapter also includes a discussion on the many works on the philosophy of religion and ...
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This chapter discusses religious faith and the differences between scientific belief and religious belief. The chapter also includes a discussion on the many works on the philosophy of religion and talks about how most of these works appear to take for granted the character of science.Less
This chapter discusses religious faith and the differences between scientific belief and religious belief. The chapter also includes a discussion on the many works on the philosophy of religion and talks about how most of these works appear to take for granted the character of science.
Jeffrey Schloss and Michael Murray (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199557028
- eISBN:
- 9780191701719
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557028.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion
Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely viewed as ...
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Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely viewed as constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. This book aims to describe and discuss these scientific accounts as well as to assess their implications. The volume begins with essays by leading scientists in the field, describing these accounts and discussing evidence in their favour. Philosophical and theological reflections on these accounts follow, offered by leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This diverse group of scholars address some fascinating underlying questions: Do scientific accounts of religion undermine the justification of religious belief? Do such accounts show religion to be an accidental by-product of our evolutionary development? And, whilst we seem naturally disposed toward religion, would we fare better or worse without it? Bringing together dissenting perspectives, this provocative collection will serve to freshly illuminate on-going debate on these perennial questions.Less
Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely viewed as constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. This book aims to describe and discuss these scientific accounts as well as to assess their implications. The volume begins with essays by leading scientists in the field, describing these accounts and discussing evidence in their favour. Philosophical and theological reflections on these accounts follow, offered by leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This diverse group of scholars address some fascinating underlying questions: Do scientific accounts of religion undermine the justification of religious belief? Do such accounts show religion to be an accidental by-product of our evolutionary development? And, whilst we seem naturally disposed toward religion, would we fare better or worse without it? Bringing together dissenting perspectives, this provocative collection will serve to freshly illuminate on-going debate on these perennial questions.
Mark Chaves
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691146850
- eISBN:
- 9781400839957
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691146850.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter focuses on one of the few traditional religious beliefs that truly declined in recent decades: believing that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Generational turnover is an important ...
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This chapter focuses on one of the few traditional religious beliefs that truly declined in recent decades: believing that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Generational turnover is an important part of this trend, with more recently born individuals much less likely to believe in an inerrant Bible than those born longer ago. The overall percentage of those who believe that the Bible is the literal word of God declined slowly but surely as younger generations replaced older generations who had stricter views about the Bible. Social change occurring in this way can be gradual, but still profound. The chapter also looks at the recent growth in diffuse spirituality, including the rising number of people—especially young people—who say that they are spiritual but not religious.Less
This chapter focuses on one of the few traditional religious beliefs that truly declined in recent decades: believing that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Generational turnover is an important part of this trend, with more recently born individuals much less likely to believe in an inerrant Bible than those born longer ago. The overall percentage of those who believe that the Bible is the literal word of God declined slowly but surely as younger generations replaced older generations who had stricter views about the Bible. Social change occurring in this way can be gradual, but still profound. The chapter also looks at the recent growth in diffuse spirituality, including the rising number of people—especially young people—who say that they are spiritual but not religious.
Nicholas Wolterstorff
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195138092
- eISBN:
- 9780199835348
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138090.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
While acknowledging the importance of sophisticated reformulations of some of the traditional arguments for “natural and revealed” religion, the bulk of this chapter expounds and then compares and ...
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While acknowledging the importance of sophisticated reformulations of some of the traditional arguments for “natural and revealed” religion, the bulk of this chapter expounds and then compares and contrasts the other two main developments over the past half century in the epistemology of religious belief: Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion, and Reformed epistemology. What unites these two movements is that both insist that religious belief does not typically have its origin in the attempt to explain things, both insist that religious belief typically consists of a more or less comprehensive perspective on reality rather than consisting of beliefs about God simply added on to one’s other beliefs, and both insist that religious belief does not have to be rationally grounded in order to be acceptable. What especially differentiates the two movements is the difference of their polemical partners—Enlightenment evidentialism for the Reformed epistemologists versus logical positivism for Wittgenstein—and the fact that the Reformed epistemologists are resolutely realist concerning God whereas most of the Wittgensteinians are apparently not theistic realists. In closing, I point out important similarities between some remarks of early Heidegger and the shared positions of the Wittgensteinians and the Reformed epistemologists.Less
While acknowledging the importance of sophisticated reformulations of some of the traditional arguments for “natural and revealed” religion, the bulk of this chapter expounds and then compares and contrasts the other two main developments over the past half century in the epistemology of religious belief: Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion, and Reformed epistemology. What unites these two movements is that both insist that religious belief does not typically have its origin in the attempt to explain things, both insist that religious belief typically consists of a more or less comprehensive perspective on reality rather than consisting of beliefs about God simply added on to one’s other beliefs, and both insist that religious belief does not have to be rationally grounded in order to be acceptable. What especially differentiates the two movements is the difference of their polemical partners—Enlightenment evidentialism for the Reformed epistemologists versus logical positivism for Wittgenstein—and the fact that the Reformed epistemologists are resolutely realist concerning God whereas most of the Wittgensteinians are apparently not theistic realists. In closing, I point out important similarities between some remarks of early Heidegger and the shared positions of the Wittgensteinians and the Reformed epistemologists.
Mark Chaves
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691146850
- eISBN:
- 9781400839957
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691146850.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This concluding chapter argues that based on the religious trends documented in this book, no indicator of traditional religious belief or practice is going up. There is much continuity and some ...
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This concluding chapter argues that based on the religious trends documented in this book, no indicator of traditional religious belief or practice is going up. There is much continuity and some decline. There is more religious diversity, there are shifting fortunes for liberal and conservative Protestant denominations, and there are troubling signs about the state of religious leadership. Moreover, changes are occurring inside congregations, and there is a tighter connection between religious service attendance and political, social, and religious conservatism. There is also more diffuse spirituality, but this diffuse spirituality should not be mistaken for an increase in traditional religiosity. As such, if there is a trend, it is toward less religion.Less
This concluding chapter argues that based on the religious trends documented in this book, no indicator of traditional religious belief or practice is going up. There is much continuity and some decline. There is more religious diversity, there are shifting fortunes for liberal and conservative Protestant denominations, and there are troubling signs about the state of religious leadership. Moreover, changes are occurring inside congregations, and there is a tighter connection between religious service attendance and political, social, and religious conservatism. There is also more diffuse spirituality, but this diffuse spirituality should not be mistaken for an increase in traditional religiosity. As such, if there is a trend, it is toward less religion.
Caroline Franks Davis
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250012
- eISBN:
- 9780191681233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250012.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
It is only comparatively recently in the history of civilisation that there has been widespread scepticism regarding religious experiences. Arguments against the plausibility of religious doctrines ...
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It is only comparatively recently in the history of civilisation that there has been widespread scepticism regarding religious experiences. Arguments against the plausibility of religious doctrines and reductionist accounts of religious experiences are now widely accepted, and many people lead atheistic lives which are to all appearances perfectly adequate. Therefore, religious individuals can no longer assume that experiences judged to be ‘genuine’ by fellow believers are immune from further attack. They are challenged on all sides, by philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, members of other religious traditions, and even by members of their own tradition with widely differing views. This book examines the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious claims. Its goal is to discover the role which religious experience can legitimately play in the defence of religious doctrines.Less
It is only comparatively recently in the history of civilisation that there has been widespread scepticism regarding religious experiences. Arguments against the plausibility of religious doctrines and reductionist accounts of religious experiences are now widely accepted, and many people lead atheistic lives which are to all appearances perfectly adequate. Therefore, religious individuals can no longer assume that experiences judged to be ‘genuine’ by fellow believers are immune from further attack. They are challenged on all sides, by philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, members of other religious traditions, and even by members of their own tradition with widely differing views. This book examines the value of religious experiences as evidence for religious claims. Its goal is to discover the role which religious experience can legitimately play in the defence of religious doctrines.
Michael Horace Barnes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195396270
- eISBN:
- 9780199852482
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195396270.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter reviews the status of religious thought today as a result of developments in science and its cognitive style. One convenient division identifies three major types of religious ...
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This chapter reviews the status of religious thought today as a result of developments in science and its cognitive style. One convenient division identifies three major types of religious truth-claims: the miraculous, the cosmological, and the metaphysical. The history of modern science presents an obvious challenge to the plausibility of the belief in miracles. The range of knowledge of natural causality has expanded until supernatural interventions have been squeezed into a few gaps. Science has defined the boundaries of plausibility for religious beliefs. Many theologians have in fact accepted those boundaries, even though they sometimes seem to say otherwise. Science has discovered an enormous amount of fundamental intelligibility to the universe, and has vindicated the hopes of generations that such intelligibility exists. Religious thought which does not accept this may find in it a fundamental reason to affirm the ultimate and religious validity of being a knower in the world.Less
This chapter reviews the status of religious thought today as a result of developments in science and its cognitive style. One convenient division identifies three major types of religious truth-claims: the miraculous, the cosmological, and the metaphysical. The history of modern science presents an obvious challenge to the plausibility of the belief in miracles. The range of knowledge of natural causality has expanded until supernatural interventions have been squeezed into a few gaps. Science has defined the boundaries of plausibility for religious beliefs. Many theologians have in fact accepted those boundaries, even though they sometimes seem to say otherwise. Science has discovered an enormous amount of fundamental intelligibility to the universe, and has vindicated the hopes of generations that such intelligibility exists. Religious thought which does not accept this may find in it a fundamental reason to affirm the ultimate and religious validity of being a knower in the world.
Yuval Avnur
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199656417
- eISBN:
- 9780191742163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656417.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter discusses the idea that, even if there is no evidence or argument in favour of belief in the external world or religious belief, there is a pragmatic justification for believing in the ...
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This chapter discusses the idea that, even if there is no evidence or argument in favour of belief in the external world or religious belief, there is a pragmatic justification for believing in the external world but not for religious belief. It turns out that, ultimately, this pragmatic approach is not satisfying. However, as Austin (1956) famously noted, justifications have had more than their fair share in philosophy. Accordingly, alternative strategies are considered that appeal to a defence — which need not necessarily involve a justification — of our belief in the external world. This chapter considers a defence that appeals to an exemption. The various versions of this strategy, including Strawson's attempt on behalf of Hume and Wittgenstein, are not entirely satisfying. It then considers excuses that are not pleas for exemption. It offers a Hume-inspired, ‘natural’ excuse for our belief in the external world. This excuse constitutes a much better defence of our belief in the external world than any similar excuse for religious belief, so the secular criticism of religious belief is cleared of inconsistency. This solution is independent of any appeal to epistemic justification.Less
This chapter discusses the idea that, even if there is no evidence or argument in favour of belief in the external world or religious belief, there is a pragmatic justification for believing in the external world but not for religious belief. It turns out that, ultimately, this pragmatic approach is not satisfying. However, as Austin (1956) famously noted, justifications have had more than their fair share in philosophy. Accordingly, alternative strategies are considered that appeal to a defence — which need not necessarily involve a justification — of our belief in the external world. This chapter considers a defence that appeals to an exemption. The various versions of this strategy, including Strawson's attempt on behalf of Hume and Wittgenstein, are not entirely satisfying. It then considers excuses that are not pleas for exemption. It offers a Hume-inspired, ‘natural’ excuse for our belief in the external world. This excuse constitutes a much better defence of our belief in the external world than any similar excuse for religious belief, so the secular criticism of religious belief is cleared of inconsistency. This solution is independent of any appeal to epistemic justification.
Mark Chaves
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691146850
- eISBN:
- 9781400839957
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691146850.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Most Americans say they believe in God, and more than a third say they attend religious services every week. Yet studies show that people do not really go to church as often as they claim, and it is ...
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Most Americans say they believe in God, and more than a third say they attend religious services every week. Yet studies show that people do not really go to church as often as they claim, and it is not always clear what they mean when they tell pollsters they believe in God or pray. This book presents up-to-date information about religious trends in the United States, in a succinct and accessible manner. The book provides essential information about key developments in American religion since 1972, and is the first major resource of its kind to appear in more than two decades. The book looks at trends in diversity, belief, involvement, congregational life, leadership, liberal Protestant decline, and polarization. It draws on two important surveys: the General Social Survey, an ongoing survey of Americans' changing attitudes and behaviors, begun in 1972; and the National Congregations Study, a survey of American religious congregations across the religious spectrum. The book finds that American religious life has seen much continuity in recent decades, but also much change. It challenges the popular notion that religion is witnessing a resurgence in the United States—in fact, traditional belief and practice is either stable or declining. The book examines why the decline in liberal Protestant denominations has been accompanied by the spread of liberal Protestant attitudes about religious and social tolerance, how confidence in religious institutions has declined more than confidence in secular institutions, and a host of other crucial trends.Less
Most Americans say they believe in God, and more than a third say they attend religious services every week. Yet studies show that people do not really go to church as often as they claim, and it is not always clear what they mean when they tell pollsters they believe in God or pray. This book presents up-to-date information about religious trends in the United States, in a succinct and accessible manner. The book provides essential information about key developments in American religion since 1972, and is the first major resource of its kind to appear in more than two decades. The book looks at trends in diversity, belief, involvement, congregational life, leadership, liberal Protestant decline, and polarization. It draws on two important surveys: the General Social Survey, an ongoing survey of Americans' changing attitudes and behaviors, begun in 1972; and the National Congregations Study, a survey of American religious congregations across the religious spectrum. The book finds that American religious life has seen much continuity in recent decades, but also much change. It challenges the popular notion that religion is witnessing a resurgence in the United States—in fact, traditional belief and practice is either stable or declining. The book examines why the decline in liberal Protestant denominations has been accompanied by the spread of liberal Protestant attitudes about religious and social tolerance, how confidence in religious institutions has declined more than confidence in secular institutions, and a host of other crucial trends.
Alvin Plantinga
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195131932
- eISBN:
- 9780199867486
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195131932.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Among objections to Christian belief, we can distinguish between de facto objections and de jure objections, i.e., between those that claim that Christian belief is false (de facto objections) and ...
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Among objections to Christian belief, we can distinguish between de facto objections and de jure objections, i.e., between those that claim that Christian belief is false (de facto objections) and those that claim that Christian belief, whether or not true, is at any rate unjustifiable, or rationally unjustified, or irrational, or not intellectually respectable, or in some other way rationally unacceptable (de jure objections). In Chs. 3 and 4, I argued (roughly) that no viable de jure objection to Christian belief can be developed in terms of justification or rationality (in most of the senses of that term); in this chapter, I turn to the objections offered by Freud and Marx, objections best understood in terms of warrant. At the heart of the criticism of religious belief due to Freud and Marx is the claim that religious belief is not produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly and aimed at truth: according to Freud, religious belief arises from the psychological mechanism of wish fulfillment (a cognitive faculty or process not aimed at truth), while according to Marx, religious belief is produced by cognitive faculties malfunctioning due to a perversion in the social structure. After an initial examination of these objections, I briefly recapitulate the account of warrant I proposed in Warrant: The Current Debate and Warrant and Proper Function (and also take the opportunity to make a correction or supplementation to my account of warrant, a supplementation relating to Gettier problems and cognitive minienvironments). I then point out that the criticisms of Freud and Marx amount to the objection that religious belief lacks warrant; in the next chapter, I evaluate this objection.Less
Among objections to Christian belief, we can distinguish between de facto objections and de jure objections, i.e., between those that claim that Christian belief is false (de facto objections) and those that claim that Christian belief, whether or not true, is at any rate unjustifiable, or rationally unjustified, or irrational, or not intellectually respectable, or in some other way rationally unacceptable (de jure objections). In Chs. 3 and 4, I argued (roughly) that no viable de jure objection to Christian belief can be developed in terms of justification or rationality (in most of the senses of that term); in this chapter, I turn to the objections offered by Freud and Marx, objections best understood in terms of warrant. At the heart of the criticism of religious belief due to Freud and Marx is the claim that religious belief is not produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly and aimed at truth: according to Freud, religious belief arises from the psychological mechanism of wish fulfillment (a cognitive faculty or process not aimed at truth), while according to Marx, religious belief is produced by cognitive faculties malfunctioning due to a perversion in the social structure. After an initial examination of these objections, I briefly recapitulate the account of warrant I proposed in Warrant: The Current Debate and Warrant and Proper Function (and also take the opportunity to make a correction or supplementation to my account of warrant, a supplementation relating to Gettier problems and cognitive minienvironments). I then point out that the criticisms of Freud and Marx amount to the objection that religious belief lacks warrant; in the next chapter, I evaluate this objection.
Herman Philipse
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199697533
- eISBN:
- 9780191738470
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199697533.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics/Epistemology
The aim of Chapter 4 is to decide whether Alvin Plantinga’s reformed objection to natural theology is successful for modern, well-educated Christian believers. Although there is a solution to the ...
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The aim of Chapter 4 is to decide whether Alvin Plantinga’s reformed objection to natural theology is successful for modern, well-educated Christian believers. Although there is a solution to the problem of generality for Plantinga’s externalist theory of warrant, it is argued that the problem of religious diversity introduces insuperable difficulties for the Extended Aquinas/Calvin model of warranted Christian belief, because other religions can function as defeaters. ‘Decent’ Christian believers cannot neutralize these defeaters unless they engage in natural theology and show that their creed is true. The A/C warrant for Christian belief cannot be an intrinsic neutralizer of the defeaters. Furthermore, mere negative apologetics will not suffice in order to restore the warrant of Christian belief if it is undercut by a defeating secular explanation of religious beliefs. In short, the positive apologetics of natural theology is indispensable to well-educated, contemporary Christians, even if they have read their Plantinga.Less
The aim of Chapter 4 is to decide whether Alvin Plantinga’s reformed objection to natural theology is successful for modern, well-educated Christian believers. Although there is a solution to the problem of generality for Plantinga’s externalist theory of warrant, it is argued that the problem of religious diversity introduces insuperable difficulties for the Extended Aquinas/Calvin model of warranted Christian belief, because other religions can function as defeaters. ‘Decent’ Christian believers cannot neutralize these defeaters unless they engage in natural theology and show that their creed is true. The A/C warrant for Christian belief cannot be an intrinsic neutralizer of the defeaters. Furthermore, mere negative apologetics will not suffice in order to restore the warrant of Christian belief if it is undercut by a defeating secular explanation of religious beliefs. In short, the positive apologetics of natural theology is indispensable to well-educated, contemporary Christians, even if they have read their Plantinga.
