NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ979082
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1361-7672
EISSN: N/A
Faith and Reason in a Post Secular Age
Radford, Mike
Journal of Beliefs & Values, v33 n2 p229-240 2012
The problems that this article seeks to address are those that are raised in the context of the bilateralism that is established when we think in terms of secularism as primarily orientated towards reason and post secularism, towards faith. The objective of the article is to show that the distinction between the two can be collapsed. Post secularism, for the purposes of this article it will be argued, centres on a challenge to explanations dominated by reason, and a re-emphasis on the role of faith in human understanding. Both secularist and post secularist perspectives however are based on underlying assumptions that cannot be guaranteed by reason but at the same time are accountable to rational discussion. In the case of "rational scientific" as oppose to "faith based religious" forms of belief, it will be argued that these forms of belief relate to different kinds of purpose, and that in this context the one cannot be conflated to the other. Scientific belief aims at a totality in objective understanding that cannot be complemented or completed by religious belief. At the same time, science can have nothing to say about the questions and activities that are centred on the spiritual dimension in human experience, that is the appropriate domain of religious belief. Within the context of religious and scientific beliefs respectively there are varied perspectives, culturally or historically determined that can be substantially reconciled by the application of reflexive and rational discourse.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A