Religious Beliefs and Philosophical Views: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Philosophy of religion is often regarded as a philosophical discipline in which irrelevant influences, such as upbringing and education, play a pernicious role. This paper presents results of a qualitative survey among academic philosophers of religion to examine the role of such factors in their work. In light of these findings, I address two questions: an empirical one (whether philosophers of religion are influenced by irrelevant factors in forming their philosophical attitudes) and an epistemological one (whether the influence of irrelevant factors on our philosophical views should worry us). My answer to the first question is a definite yes, my answer to the second, a tentative yes.

Liberal–democratic values and philosophers' beliefs about moral expertise

“…41 Even philosophers have been found to evaluate arguments in philosophy of religion in line with their religious beliefs. 42 Therefore, it is possible that philosophers' values unconsciously affect their beliefs and reasoning, even when such values are logically irrelevant or should not be taken into consideration.…”

What Is Natural Theology? (And Should We Dispense With It?)

“…This seems to be the most plausible explanation of why philosophers disagree about the cogency of the arguments in question. Indeed, there is some empirical evidence to support this suspicion (De Cruz and De Smedt 2015, 198–99; Tobia 2016; De Cruz 2018). The celebrated case of Antony Flew's “conversion” would then represent a rare exception (Flew 2007).…”