Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
Definitely not a form of religious teaching (that would
be Theology)
Not questions posed from within religion, but ABOUT
religion
Practiced by non-believers such as Nietzsche and Karl
Marx
META-LEVEL: Critical examination of basic religious beliefs and concepts
Theology: Search for understanding within faith (with already religious presuppositions) e.g.
Why did God have to become human in Christ? (heavily laden with presuppositions)
Philosophy: Asks about religion e.g. Are “God” and “evil” reliable concepts?
Philosophy of Religion like Philosophy of Science: only a meta-level, not inherently or
explicitly scientific or religious
“RELIGION” in other disciplines:
Psychology Sociology History Phenomenology
Man’s religious Force within human Origins and What is common to
consciousness cf. socialisation development of world most religions
William James religions
Other:
Naturalistic (impedes freedom of thought), religious defs, ethics with feelings, “humanity’s response
to the divine”
John Hick’s Conception of “RELIGION” (refutes the aforementioned approaches)
Hick starts out by saying that current definitions of religion is prescriptive (what it should be) rather
than describing it de facto (as it actually is).
RELIGION: Does not have one general definition, rather it is an umbrella term for a range of
phenomena = these phenomena have partial similarities and differences to each other
= analogous to family resemblance
Members of a family are individuals and independent but they share certain characteristics, which
can sometimes only be seen when one sees another close family member.
Hick uses Wittgenstein’s approach: “GAMES”
Background on Ludwig Wittgenstein = “all philosophical problems due to misuse of language”, 1 st
part of work says that language reflects the world we live in, 2 nd part of work says that the meaning
of words influences their uses (presuppositions)
Wittgenstein analogy: The concept “game” is not definable by referring to a single characteristic
common to all games (like with the family resemblance analogy)
Example: Rugby vs Tennis vs Gholf = different ball sizes, different instruments (if any), different score
criteria to win, played within a team or alone
Hick’s one characteristic commonly present (not universally) to religion:
NOTION OF SALVATION: MERCY, HEALING, LIBERATION
,Soteriological (Greek for salvation), bad condition good condition/fulfilment
Religion allows man to become aware of final and true reality, beyond and in contrast to current
reality
Exception to Hick’s “Salvation” concept?
Indigenous/traditional African religions = ancestors maintain their human impulses therefore not an
entirely blissful state, “need ancestors and ancestors need us”, intermingling between future and
past,
****Exception thus does not falsify (prove wrong) Hick’s aforementioned definition of religion with
respect to analogies of family resemblance and the concept of games
Provisional definition of religion
Religion is a way of life in terms of which man orientates himself to reality = centred around an
encounter with totality of man’s existence, leads to complete commitment, during which man is
confronted by the mystery of existence (essential component)
MYSTERY
Mysterium tremendum Mysterium fascinans
Something we fear, fills man with sense of Enthrals and draws one to it
alienation Moves onto worship and commitment
Held passively by mystery of existence Actively directing and interacting with the
mystery
Religion = Man’s “ultimate concern” = why/ought, what truly matters and the strategy for living
Religious interaction forms: Attitudes to life
Rituals and moral policy (ethical implications)
Myths or doctrinal tradition
*Religion is a personal matter but NEVER INDIVIDUALISTIC, always practiced in community context
Philosophy of Religion concerns two kinds of philosophical questions
Conceptual questions Questions of meaning (presumably tuts)
Not an empirical investigation but a logical Is religion an essential part of life?
investigation Is religion an implicit power structure that
Analyse religious concepts and compare it constrains freedom and exerts power to
to other discourses such as science and arts only a few?
Hudson: “Analytical description of logical Is religion residue of primitive society?
structures of religion and critical Or is religion an emancipatory opportunity
assessment of moves made within that from the rationalised modern world?
sphere Does religion serve as the Kantian
Critical evaluation of the ways in which categorical imperative to bring order to a
religious beliefs have been stated and chaotic world?
defended up until present
, Rowe, Chapter one, “The Idea of God” (tut only)
Evolution of belief: Polytheism (plurality of gods, e.g. Greece) Henotheism (each tribe has its own god) monotheism (one’s own god is
creator of everything and all people)
Distinction between god “up there” (in heaven, world consists of three spheres, primitive) and god “out there” (purely spiritual, supremely good,
separate from world and guide it to final purpose)
God “out there” = traditional theological view being discussed
God: Omnipotent, benevolent and omniscient
Aquinas on God’s omnipotence = God can do anything that is an absolute possibility (not a contradiction) and not inconsistent with his basic
attributes
God can never cease to be God, source of absolute moral goodness, God is a self-existent being because he exists by his very nature, beyond the
basic laws of space and time
Self-existent being: Based on Anselm’s three distinctions of being = God exists because of himself (why is fire warm? It is the nature of the fire to be
warm)
God’s separation from world in this view clearly refutes pantheism, which claims god is in everything in the world
Theism: Belief the aforementioned supreme being
Atheist: This aforementioned god does not exist
Agnostic: Believes neither the existence nor the nonexistence of this being
Proofs for the existence of God
o A priori: Known beyond experience of world, by reflection and understanding only
o A posteriori: Depends on principle or premise only known through experience of world
