Philosophy of Religion and the Future of Religion
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69574/aejpr.v1i1.22858Keywords:
religion, future , progress , philosophy, thresholdAbstract
No religion is more deserving of philosophical attention than all others, and philosophy of religion should reflect a broad understanding of the religious experience of humanity. The field should also include within its purview these topics: future directions religion might and should take; whether religion can make progress; what this progress might consist in and how it might be facilitated; whether we human beings may be at an early stage in our religious development; and whether there may be skills or capacities or dispositions or the like we do not possess now but could possess in the future, and that might help us to make religious progress. So part of the focus of this essay is on expanding the scope of the field. However, as we pursue religious progress we should narrow our focus somewhat and pay special attention to traditions that are above a certain normative threshold, some elements of which I introduce. Drawing on recent work by John Bishop, I propose that a religion merits special attention in this context when moral progress is reflected in its metaphysical posits. Avoiding excessive confidence in our assertions about religious matters and avoiding denigrating attitudes to religious outsiders are also elements that may reasonably be considered essential for being above this threshold. Being above the relevant threshold and therefore qualifying for special attention as we pursue religious progress will be a matter of scoring highly in terms of all relevant elements.
References
Adams, R.M. (1987). The Virtue of Faith and Other Essays in Philosophical Theology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Adams, R.M. (1999). Finite and Infinite Goods: A Framework for Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Akenson, D.M. (1992). God’s Peoples: Covenant and Land in South Africa, Israel, and Ulster. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Bishop, J. (2017). On Facing Up to the Question of Religion as Such. In P. Draper & J. L. Schellenberg (Eds.), Renewing Philosophy of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 94–111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198738909.003.0007
Burley, M. (2018). Thickening Description: Towards an Expanded Conception of Philosophy of Religion. International Journal of Philosophy of Religion, 83(1), pp. 3–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-016-9597-7
Gellman, J. (2017). Jewish Chosenness and Religious Diversity: A Contemporary Approach. In R. McKim (Ed.), Religious Perspectives on Religious Diversity Leiden: Brill, pp. 21–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004330436_003
James, W. (2002). The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470693551.ch26
Kessler, G. E. (Ed). (1999). Philosophy of Religion: Toward a Global Perspective. Belmont CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Lewis, T. A. (2015). Why Philosophy Matters for the Study of Religion – and Vice Versa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744740.001.0001
Lougheed, K. (2022). The Epistemic Benefits of Diversifying the Philosophy of Religion, European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 14(1), pp. 77–94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.2022.3396
McKim, R. (2012). On Religious Diversity. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199774029.001.0001
McKim, R. (2017). The Future of Philosophy of Religion, The Future of the Study of Religion, and (Even) the Future of Religion. In P. Draper & J.L. Schellenberg (Eds.), Renewing Philosophy of Religion, pp. 112–130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198738909.003.0008
McKim, R. (2019a). On Making Religious Progress. In P. Draper (Ed.), Current Controversies in Philosophy of Religion. New York: Routledge, pp. 27–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315645681-3
McKim, R. (2019b). Religious Diversity and Religious Progress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108558419
Nagasawa, Y. (2017). Global Philosophy of Religion and its Challenges. In P. Draper & J.L Schellenberg (Eds.), Renewing Philosophy of Religion, pp. 33–47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198738909.003.0003
Palmqvist, C-J. (2022). A Faith for the Future: Why Non-Doxastic Traditional Religion is the Preferable Form of Evolutionary Religion. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 14(1), pp. 95–121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.2022.3677
Schellenberg, J. L. (2007). The Wisdom to Doubt. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Schellenberg, J. L. (2013). Evolutionary Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673766.001.0001
Schellenberg, J. L. (2019a). Religion After Science: The Cultural Consequences of Religious Immaturity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108614832
Schellenberg, J. L. (2019b). The Future of Religion: How Might Religion Make Progress? In P. Draper (Ed.), Current Controversies in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 11–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315645681-2
Schilbrack, K. (2014). Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394268061
Sikka, S. (2017). Rescuing Religion from Faith. In P. Draper & J.L Schellenberg (Eds.), Renewing Philosophy of Religion, pp. 15–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198738909.003.0002
Wildman, W. J. (2011). Religious Philosophy as Multidisciplinary Comparative Inquiry. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Wildman, W. J. & D. Rohr. (2017). North American Philosophers of Religion: How They See their Field. In P. Draper & J.L Schellenberg (Eds.), Renewing Philosophy of Religion, pp. 133–153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198738909.003.0009
Wynn, M. (2017). Renewing our Understanding of Religion: Philosophy of Religion and the Goals of the Spiritual Life. In P. Draper & J.L Schellenberg (Eds.), Renewing Philosophy of Religion, pp. 79–93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198738909.003.0006
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Robert McKim
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors of content published in the AGATHEOS retain the copyright to their works.
Articles are published under the terms of a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permits use, downloading, distribution, linking to and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
