Fideism
Fideism is the view that religious belief rests on faith rather than reason, or that faith can justify belief independently of rational evidence.
Faith: Trust or commitment grounded in confidence, often without conclusive evidence. Fideism treats faith as a basis for religious belief that need not depend on rational proof.
Søren Kierkegaard: A Danish philosopher and theologian whose writings examine faith, subjectivity, and Christian existence. His account of religious commitment is frequently associated with fideism, though the label is disputed.
Natural Theology: The study of claims about God through reason and observation apart from special revelation. It exemplifies the rational route to religious knowledge that fideists may reject or limit.
Religious Pluralism: The coexistence of multiple religious traditions, often alongside claims about their truth or value. Faith-based justification faces a challenge when different traditions ground incompatible beliefs in faith.
Evidentialism: The view that beliefs are justified only when supported by adequate evidence. It denies the independence from evidence that strong forms of fideism defend.
Blaise Pascal: A French mathematician and religious thinker known for arguments about belief, probability, and human dependence. His wager and account of the heart illustrate approaches to belief beyond demonstrative proof.
Classical Theism: The tradition that understands God as the ultimate, necessary, and perfect source of reality. Its philosophical arguments invite the question whether reason can establish religious belief.
Religious Toleration: The acceptance of religious beliefs and practices one considers mistaken or objectionable. Limits on shared rational proof can affect how believers handle disagreement and coercion.
Religious Experience: An experience interpreted as an encounter with, or awareness of, the divine. Some fideists treat such experiences as grounds for faith rather than public evidence.
Ludwig Wittgenstein: An Austrian-British philosopher whose work transformed the study of language and mind. Some interpreters read his remarks on religious language as treating faith as autonomous from evidence.