Knowra Faith and rationality Faith and rationality Faith and rationality is the philosophical inquiry into whether religious faith can be rational and how belief relates to evidence, reason, and knowledge.
Evidentialism : The view that a belief is rational only when supported by adequate evidence. It makes evidential support a requirement for rational religious belief.
Religious faith : Trust, commitment, or belief oriented toward a religious reality, teaching, or community. The inquiry begins by distinguishing faith as trust from faith as assent to claims.
Wager of Pascal : Blaise Pascal’s argument that belief in God may be prudent given its possible rewards and risks. It models faith as a decision under uncertainty rather than a conclusion from proof.
Blaise Pascal : A seventeenth-century French mathematician, physicist, and religious thinker known for the Wager of Pascal. His wager frames religious commitment as a practical decision under uncertainty.
Divine hiddenness : The apparent lack of clear evidence for God, especially for people willing to believe but unable to do so. It raises questions about whether a rational seeker should expect stronger evidence.
Fideism : The view that religious faith is independent of, or cannot be grounded in, reason. It treats faith as distinct from rational demonstration, challenging evidential standards.
Rationality : The quality of beliefs or actions conforming to standards of reason, coherence, and evidence. Different standards of rationality yield different verdicts about religious belief.
Religious experience : An experience interpreted as an encounter with a divine or transcendent reality. It can function as personal evidence, though its interpretation remains contested.
William James : An American philosopher and psychologist whose work defended the role of commitment in belief. His essay “The Will to Believe” addresses choices where evidence cannot settle a live option.
Religious disagreement : Disagreement among religious traditions and individuals about fundamental religious claims. Conflicting testimony challenges how confidently any tradition can claim rational warrant.
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