Homo Religiosus?: Exploring the Roots of Religion and Religious Freedom in Human Experience (Cambridge Studies in Religion, Philosophy, and Society)

Cambridge University Press, 1/31/2018
EAN 9781108433952, ISBN10: 1108433952

Paperback, 278 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

Are humans naturally predisposed to religion and supernatural beliefs? If so, does this naturalness provide a moral foundation for religious freedom? This volume offers a cross-disciplinary approach to these questions, engaging in a range of contemporary debates at the intersection of religion, cognitive science, sociology, anthropology, political science, epistemology, and moral philosophy. The contributors to this original and important volume present individual, sometimes opposing points of view on the naturalness of religion thesis and its implications for religious freedom. Topics include the epistemological foundations of religion, the relationship between religion and health, and a discussion of the philosophical foundations of religious freedom as a natural, universal right, drawing implications for the normative role of religion in public life. By challenging dominant intellectual paradigms, such as the secularization thesis and the Enlightenment view of religion, the volume opens the door to a powerful and provocative reconceptualization of religious freedom.

Introduction Jack Friedman and Timothy Samuel Shah
1. Are human beings naturally religious? Christian Smith
2. Are human beings naturally religious? A response to Christian Smith Phil Zuckerman
3. On the naturalness of religion and religious freedom Justin L. Barrett
4. Sacred versus secular values
cognitive and evolutionary sciences of religion and their implications for religious freedom Richard Sosis and Jordan Kiper
5. Theism, naturalism and rationality Alvin Plantinga
6. Alvin Plantinga on theism, naturalism and rationality Ernest Sosa
7. Research on religion and health
time to be born again? Linda K. George
8. Religion, health and happiness
an epidemiologist's perspective Jeff Levin
9. Why there is a natural right to religious freedom Nicholas Wolterstorff
10. Religious liberty, human dignity, and human goods Christopher Tollefsen
11. Human rights, public reason, and American democracy
a response to Nicholas Wolterstorff Stephen Macedo.