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Philosophy
of Religion
Religion
is as old as humanity itself, philosophy was a later development and philosophy
of religion appeared later still. Philosophy critics all major human practices
including the practice of religion. Thus philosophy of religion is basically a
critic of religion. It is comparatively a recent field of study, it developed
only last two to three hundred years back.[1] Philosophy
of Religion is a normative enterprise, it reflects on the truths of religious beliefs.
Thus, proof of the existence of God is offered in the attempt to establish the
truth of various theistic claims while existence of evil is offered as evidence
against such claims.[2] “Philosophy
of Religion is an attempt to discover by rational interpretation of religion
and its relations to other types of experience, the truth of religious beliefs
and the value of religious attitudes and practices.”[3] It
is a branch of metaphysics which interprets the relation of man’s experience of
religious values to the rest of his experiences; thus, it seeks both to
contribute concrete religious values to the interpretation of experience as a
whole and to criticize those values in the light of rational view.[4]
The
philosophers of Religion have been concerned with seeking explanations and
justifications for the kind of thing that a religious believer believes. For
some, the aim of Philosophy of Religion is to provide rational basis for
religious belief for others it is to show that such a basis is not possible.[5] Philosophy
of Religion is nothing but philosophical thinking about religion. It is not an
organ of religious teaching. Indeed, it need not be undertaken from a religious
stand point at all. The atheist, the agnostic and the person of faith all can
and do philosophize about religion. It is not a branch of theology but of
philosophy.[6]
While
various attempts have been made to define and elucidate what Philosophy of Religion
is, it is a difficult discipline to define. Perhaps, then, this is one of the
reasons why this subject is often embarked upon without being defined by its
practitioners. One of the reasons why it is difficult to define Philosophy of
Religion is because this term is traditionally used and the traditional usage
differs according to place. However, the topics in Philosophy of Religion centre
on the following: the different ways in
which the existence of God can apparently be proved, the attributes of God, the
question of divine action, miracles, evil, life after death etc., [7]
Phenomenology
of Religion
The
phenomenological approach to the study of religion was conceptualized and
developed by Pierre Daniël Chantepie de la Saussaye, William Brede Kristensen
and Gerardus van der Leeuw. It deals with the experiential aspect of Religion.
It views religion as composed of different elements and analyses them across
different religious traditions so that a comprehensive understanding of it may
be reached.[8] The phenomenology of Religion has emerged as
both a major field of study and an extremely influential approach to religion
during the 20th century. The term has become popular and has been
utilized by numerous scholars who seem to share little if anything in common.
There are four major groups of scholars who use the term phenomenology of
religion: The first group consists of scholars who use Phenomenology of Religion
in the vaguest, broadest and most uncritical of ways. Often the term seems to
mean nothing more than an investigation of the phenomena of religion. The
second group speaks of Phenomenology of Religion as the comparative study and
the classification of different types of religious phenomena. The third group
of scholars have identified the Phenomenology of Religion as a specific discipline
or method within religionswissenschaft.[9]
This is where the most significant contribution of the phenomenology of
religion to the study of religion have been made. The fourth group of scholars
consists of those whose Phenomenology of Religion has been influenced by
philosophical phenomenology.[10] The
modern scholarly study of religion probably had its beginning in the late 18th
century largely as a product of the rational and scientific attitude of the
enlightenment. The first major figure in this discipline was F. Max Müller
(1823-1900).[11]
The Phenomenology of Religion is a descriptive approach
to the Philosophy of Religion. Instead of debating whether certain religious
beliefs are true it asks the question ‘what is religion?’ it seeks to deepen
our understanding of the religious life by asking what (if anything) the
phenomena we normally take to be religious have in common that distinguishes
them from art, ethics, magic or science. It also studies the differences
between the different religious groups. Sometimes the Phenomenology of Religion
is motivated by a desire for quasi scientific objectivity at other times it has
a more existential orientation. Phenomenology of Religion considers the fact
that religion is an observable phenomenon of human life, and its task is to
help us better understand what religion is by giving descriptive analysis of
that aspect of human experience.[12]
[1] Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski, Philosophy of Religion An Historical
Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2007), 1.
[2] Merold Westphal, “Phenomenology
of Religion,” Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy,
gen. ed. Edward Craig (London: Routledge, 1998) 7: 353.
[3] Edgar Sheffield Brightman, A Philosophy of Religion (New York:
Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1969), 22.
[4] Brightman, A Philosophy of Religion, 22.
[5] Clack and Clack,
The Philosophy of Religion A Critical
Introduction, 7.
[6] John H. Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 4th edn.
(New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, 2003), 1.
[7] Beverley Clack and Brian R.
Clack, The Philosophy of Religion A
Critical Introduction (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1998), 6. See also: Anne
Jordan Neil Lockyer and Edwin Tate, Philosophy
of Religion for A Level (Cheltenham:
Stanley Thornes Ltd. 1999), vii.
[9] For Max Müller, religionswissenschaft is a descriptive,
objective science that was free from the normative nature of theological and
philosophical studies of religion. Cf Douglas Allen, “Phenomenology of Religion,” The Encyclopaedia of Religion, ed. in chief
Mircea Eliade (New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company) 11: 276.
[10] Allen, “Phenomenology of
Religion,” The Encyclopaedia of Religion,
273.
[11] Allen, “Phenomenology of
Religion,” The Encyclopaedia of Religion,
276.
[12] Merold Westphal, “Phenomenology
of Religion,” Routledge Encyclopaedia of
Philosophy gen ed. Edward Craig (London: Routledge, 1998) 7: 352.
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