A realist epistemology of faith

Macdonald, Paul A.

doi:10.1017/s0034412505007948

Cited by 4 publications

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“…Indeed, that the multifarious and abundant intersections of politics and religion in the modern world need no introduction, and that highlighting them would be a conspicuous and mundane task, aptly demonstrate the salience of the issue. As an obvious field for scholarly endeavor, the topic of religion is one that has also attracted an intense amount of academic attention, traversing a variety of disciplines, often with interdisciplinary overlap between them, including anthropology (Hann 2007; Saler 2008), history (Morris 2003; Mancini 2007), sociology (Davie 2000, 2006; Coleman, Ivani-Challian and Robinson 2004; Crockett and Voas 2006), law (Greenawalt 1998; Danchin 2008); philosophy (Macdonald 2005; Habermas 2006), psychology (Green and Rubin 1991; Barrett 2000; Boyer 2003; Rossano 2006); economics (Lipford and Tollinson 2003; Fase 2005), and political science (Keddie 1998; Kotler-Berkowitz 2001; Philpott 2007). Within this highly congested scholarly sphere, however, the issue of religious discourse has been something of a neglected area.…”

Section: Religion and Public Discoursementioning

confidence: 99%

On the Public Discourse of Religion: An Analysis of Christianity in the United Kingdom

Kettell

2009

Politics and Religion

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Debates over the involvement of religion in the public sphere look set to be one of the defining themes of the 21st century. But while religious issues have attracted a large degree of scholarly attention, the public discourse of religion itself, in terms of the effort to assert and legitimize a role for faith in the public realm, has remained notably under-researched. This article marks an initial step to address this deficiency by deconstructing the public discourse of Christianity in the United Kingdom. It argues that, while appealing for representation on the grounds of liberal equality, the overall goal of this discourse is to establish a role for itself as a principal source of moral authority, and to exempt itself from the evidentially-based standards and criteria that govern public life.

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Section: Religion and Public Discoursementioning

confidence: 99%

On the Public Discourse of Religion: An Analysis of Christianity in the United Kingdom

Kettell

2009

Politics and Religion

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“…Greenawalt 1998); philosophy (Habermas 2006;Macdonald 2005), economics (Fase 2005;Lipford and Tollison 2003), and political science (Haynes, 2009;Kalyvas 1996). Although many of these disciplines have developed well-crafted research agendas into religious affairs, a common refrain from scholars involved with political science is that their discipline has long overlooked the subject, behaving, for the most part, as if religion was irrelevant to its central themes, issues, and concerns.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Academic analyses of religion are substantial and extensive and traverse a wide variety of disciplines. These include anthropology (Boyer 2001), history (Mancini 2007; Morris 2003), sociology (Crockett and Voas 2006; Davie 2006), law (Danchin 2008; Greenawalt 1998); philosophy (Habermas 2006; Macdonald 2005), economics (Fase 2005; Lipford and Tollison 2003), and political science (Haynes, 2009; Kalyvas 1996). Although many of these disciplines have developed well-crafted research agendas into religious affairs, a common refrain from scholars involved with political science is that their discipline has long overlooked the subject, behaving, for the most part, as if religion was irrelevant to its central themes, issues, and concerns.…”

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Has Political Science Ignored Religion?

Kettell

2012

APSC

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A common complaint from political scientists involved in the study of religion is that religious issues have been largely overlooked by political science. Through a content analysis of leading political science and sociology journals from 2000 to 2010, this article considers the extent of this claim. The results show that political science publications involving religious topics have been significantly fewer than those engaging with subjects typically regarded as being more central to the discipline, and markedly less numerous than religious articles in leading sociology publications. Where political science publications have engaged with religious issues, these articles have also focused on a limited number of subject areas and been concentrated in specific disciplinary subfields. The proportion of articles covering religion has shown no real increase since the turn of the century. These findings underpin calls for political scientists to take religious issues more seriously.S ince its international "resurgence" during the 1970s, the social, cultural, and political impact of religion has been difficult to miss. As the boundary between the religious and the secular has become increasingly contested in many parts of the world, tensions over the role of religion in the public sphere have become more apparent. These topics embrace a broad range of themes, including matters of life and death (such as abortion and euthanasia), scientific advances (for example, research involving stem cells and cloning technologies), civil and human rights (notably centering around questions of equality and discrimination), and welfare and public service provision (including controversies over religious schools and faith-based initiatives). The ability of religious beliefs and organizations to promote democratic, social, and political engagement has also been at the center of contemporary debates on matters of faith, as have questions about its role in national, cultural, and individual conceptions of identity, community, and tolerance. Themes of conflict and violence, too, remain close at hand; fueled, not least, by the impact of religiously motivated terrorism, but with intrafaith disputes, sectarianism, and fundamentalism all threatening to reap potentially noxious harvests. With global levels of religious belief are expected to rise in future years (Johnson 2004); it is no longer possible, if indeed it ever was, to regard religion as being an inevitably diminishing feature of human societies (Casanova 1994;Norris and Inglehart 2004).Academic analyses of religion are substantial and extensive and traverse a wide variety of disciplines. These include anthropology

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In defence of a realist interpretation of theology

Macdonald

2008

Rel. Stud.

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In this essay, I defend theology against a recent argument made by Peter Byrne. According to Byrne, any discipline of thought that can be interpreted realistically shows the accumulation of reliable or widespread belief about the reality it investigates. I challenge this claim, first, by showing how theology, so construed as an exercise of ‘faith seeking understanding’, can and should be interpreted realistically, even if it does not show the accumulation of reliable or widespread belief about divine reality. Second, I give a plausible account of why theology is beset by internal disagreement and division, even if the goal of theological enquiry is to overcome such disagreement and division.

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A realist epistemology of faith

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

On the Public Discourse of Religion: An Analysis of Christianity in the United Kingdom

On the Public Discourse of Religion: An Analysis of Christianity in the United Kingdom

Has Political Science Ignored Religion?

In defence of a realist interpretation of theology

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