An eliminativist theory of religion

Mark Owen Webb

doi:10.1007/s11841-008-0084-1

An eliminativist theory of religion

Mark Owen Webb

Philosophy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

A philosophical theory of religion ought to meet four criteria: it should be extensionally accurate, neutral, phenomenological, and non-circular. I argue that none of the popular theories of religion meet all these criteria, and that, in particular, the extensional accuracy criterion and the non-circularity criterion can't be met without sacrificing extensional accuracy. I conclude that, therefore, religions do not form a kind, and so, there is no such thing as religion.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	35-42
Number of pages	8
Journal	Sophia
Volume	48
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-008-0084-1
State	Published - Feb 2009

Keywords

Conceptual analysis
Definition
Philosophy
Religion

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10.1007/s11841-008-0084-1

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AB - A philosophical theory of religion ought to meet four criteria: it should be extensionally accurate, neutral, phenomenological, and non-circular. I argue that none of the popular theories of religion meet all these criteria, and that, in particular, the extensional accuracy criterion and the non-circularity criterion can't be met without sacrificing extensional accuracy. I conclude that, therefore, religions do not form a kind, and so, there is no such thing as religion.

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An eliminativist theory of religion

Abstract

Keywords

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