LibGuides: Theory of Knowledge: Knowledge and Religion

Connecting with the Core

Key Concepts

Who has religious knowledge, and what is it about?

Does religion address problems that cannot be resolved by other disciplines and fields? Does religious knowledge create meaning and purpose?

Are religious beliefs rational? Does it matter? Is reason enough? Is certainty any more or less attainable in religion than it is in the arts or human sciences? Where should the burden of proof lie – on those proving, or disproving an idea?

Argument by Design
GCSE: This argument points to evidence that suggests our world works well - ie that it was designed in a specific way. The argument follows that if it was designed like this, then someone or something must have designed it.
Religious Experience
It is argued that if someone feels they have experienced God, this will be the most convincing proof of God’s existence because they have personally experienced or felt God for themselves.
Moral Argument
The argument claims that because all people have a sense of what is right and wrong, such a sense must have come from someone or something outside ourselves.
Bound to Believe?
Pascal Boyer explains a slew of cognitive traits predispose us to faith.

Does religion provide a way to systematise concepts of right and wrong?

MLK: God's Immanence and Civil Rights
Pew Report: World views on religion and morality
Does Religion Make People Moral?
Should we expect those with religious knowledge to act more ethically than those without it?
Does religion promote violence?
By William T. Cavanaugh, 2013, America Magazine.

“One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion. So now people assume that religion and morality have a necessary connection. But the basis of morality is really very simple and doesn't require religion at all.”
― Arthur C. Clarke

TWE does religion shape moral belief?

What role do analogy and metaphor play in the production and communication of religious ideas?