Religious Beliefs

As a humanist, I am not dogmatic about things that I do not have good evidence for. But that does not stop me from asking the question of how I came to be. For sure, I have a mother, and my mother has a mother, and on we go. This is an area where philosophy and religion both have staked claims. Now a person may say that their metaphysical stance cannot be taken as a religious position. It is certainly not motivated by practicing religion. However, if the position is diametrically opposed to some religious position, then by virtue of having a relation between the two, they exist on a spectrum of positions. On one end, is religious belief, and the other is a philosophical belief. The religious person may say that both positions are religious beliefs because they concern an explanation for the same question. The philosophical person may claim that it is actually the religious person whom is philosophical. Though neither may agree on terminology, it serves no useful purpose for the philosophical person to be offended by the notion of his or her metaphysics being labeled a religious belief. Likewise, the religious person should realize the connection of their religious belief to philosophy. In this way, we can increase our peaceful coexistence with one another.

 

Author: Wayne Fincher
Date: 2015-05-17