Topic Seven

Philosophy and Religion

7.0 Introduction
We would now like to welcome you to the next topic in which we define
religion, see how it begins and develops and also discuss how philosophy
deals with some of the problems that arise from religious faith and belief.
Welcome.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic you should be able to:-
1) Define Religion;
2) Explain the subject matter of Philosophy of Religion;
3) Define the problem of evil and show the solutions that have
been proposed for the problem.

7.1 Definition of Religion

Religion is a type of experience that is found among all classes of people.
Primitive man had his peculiar religious beliefs and practices and the same
is true of people at all stages of civilization. The expression of religion
varies with the needs, customs, and education of the people involved and
this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to state precisely what religion
is and to differentiate it from other forms of experience.

For the purposes of this topic, we shall use the following definition of
religion: “Religion is an intense loyalty and devotion to whatever it
is that one regards as most significant thing in their human life”.

While there are no certain specific beliefs that are essential for religious
experience, it is true that a religious person will believe in something and
the influence of his/her beliefs will be manifested in the multitude of
activities in which he/she is engaged. The content of the particular beliefs
and activities associated with religious experience is directly related to the
culture which may be said to characterize all forms of religion and this is
an intense loyalty and devotion.

The religious person is one who feels himself in the presence of some force
or power that is greater than himself/herself and in co-operation with which
he/she can achieve values that would otherwise be, impossible.

It should be noted that, religion is a worldwide phenomenon. Philosophy

of religion therefore, examines and evaluates the beliefs, attitudes and
practices that are normally a part of religious experience. Its aim is not to
favour or reject any particular form of religion, but rather to aid one in their
understanding of it through a critical analysis of the content, act and
presuppositions of religion. It provides different perspectives so that one
can make a decision based on these.
7.2 The Rise and Development of Religious Consciousness

The origin of religion is something that takes place in connection with the
development of self-consciousness in the life of human beings. With an
awareness of self-hood, some forms of religious beliefs and practices come
into use as a means of satisfying human needs. Man finds himself in a world
that is hostile to his own interests, and therefore, tries to establish contact
with the forces that control the factors upon which their own survival is
dependent.

Their only means of knowing anything about these powers is through

analogy with themselves. Since he does not know what the forces are, they
imagine that they are in the form of spirits and thinks that they will react
the same way man does when they make decisions in their own
environment.

For this reason they make an offering of food or drink and place it where
it will be accessible to the spirits. This is one of the ways in which they
hope to secure an adequate supply of food and to protect themselves from
enemies. This is why for instance; “Give us this day our daily bread” is one
of the universal prayers of religion.

As man’s understanding develops, the idea of different spirits of each of

the forces of nature tends to be replaced with the concept of a god or
many gods whose dwelling is in the heavens above the earth. In order to
establish a relationship with them, they build an altar and burn sacrifices
upon it. As the smoke from the sacrifices ascends towards the heavens,
they believe that it comes into the presence of the deities.
As man’s understanding continues to grow, the idea of many gods is
replaced with the idea of one God and now people begin to petition him in
prayer.

It should be noted that, that religion is not something that flourishes by

itself in isolation from other elements in the human personality. It is
integrated with one’s physical growth and with the exercise of his social,
moral, aesthetic, and intellectual capacities. In the course of its
development, it is influenced by many different factors, some of which are
primarily psychological in character, while others are sociological in
nature. A few of these will be mentioned briefly.

1. The element of fear has often been mentioned as one of the sources
of religious experience. Some anthropologists have maintained that
fear created the gods and led to the different forms of worship as a
means of winning their favour.

2. Love no less than fear has been an important factor in the religious
experience of men and women. It may be expressed in a number of
different ways. When people say they love God, it means that they
love truth, beauty, and goodness which are identified with God.

3. The kind of temperament one possesses will have its effect on his/her
religious life. The extrovert who has an outgoing personality will want
to share his/her experiences with others and for this purpose he/she
will participate in the religious activities of the group to which he/she
belongs. The introvert will be more inclined to solitude and private
devotions. The intellectual who is essentially rationalistic in his/her
thinking will always be revising his religious concepts in order to avoid
inconsistencies and to bring his/her beliefs into harmony with known
facts.

4. Custom is also an important sociological factor that influences the

development of religion. Man is, in certain respects, an imitative
creature and it is normal for him/her to want to be like other people,
especially the ones whom he respects and admires. There is a strong
tendency for him to accept the same beliefs and practices that are in
evidence among the people he knows.
 5. The political conditions which prevail in a country will be reflected to
some extent in the religious life of its people. In a democratic society
for example, there will be a greater degree of freedom for people to
think and to worship as they see fit, while in a state that is under
authoritarian control the government will either attempt to suppress
religious activities or to make them serve the interests of the state.

6. Economic interests are also an important factor in determining the

nature and quality of religious activities. This is especially true of
religious institutions when they become large and powerful. To keep
them in operation requires a lot of money and they are unlikely to
criticize their donors. However, there will always be a vital minority
who believe that it is the function of a genuine religion to sit in
judgment on both political and economic affairs. By exposing the
injustices which they see in business and in government, they are
often forced to endure persecution and hardship and yet it is under
these difficult circumstances that religion flourishes most of all. This
is illustrated in the statement “the blood of the martyrs becomes the
seed of the church”.

7.3 The Problem of Evil

7.3.1 Definition

Throughout the centuries, one of the chief objections to the belief in God
has been the existence of what is regarded as evil in both the physical
and moral realms of experience. Evil can either be physical or moral.
Moral evil refers to the bad things that happen out of the choices that
people make e.g. rape, murder, bestiality, incest, terrorism, robbery,
wars and brutalities of many descriptions.
Physical evil on the other hand refers to the bad things that happen
which are beyond human control e.g. earthquakes, famines, typhoons,
floods, diseases, insanity, premature senilities etc. All these appear to
indicate a denial of any kind and benevolent providence (God) that
presides over the destiny of men and the world.

It should be noted that, those who believe in God also believe that He has
certain characteristics such as: omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient,
loving, faithful, slow to anger and so on. But this poses a problem with
regards to evil because one can argue that if God is omniscient, He should
know about evil before it happens, if He is omnipotent, then He should be
able to stop evil since He is present everywhere happens and if He is
omnipresent, He should be able to prevent evil from happening, yet evil
still exists.
The question that arises therefore, is does it mean that God lacks some of
these attributes or how do we explain the evil that is in the world? Those
people who still believe in God in spite of all the terrible things that
happen around them are faced with the task of trying to reconcile their
belief in God with what actually happens in the world about them.

The problem of evil therefore, refers to the question, how do we reconcile

a good, omnipresent, omnipotent and loving God with the existence of
evil?

To deal with this problem, Philosophers have proposed some solutions.

We will now turn our attention to the proposed solutions.

7.4 Proposed Solutions to the Problem of Evil

The following are the proposed solutions to the problem of evil:-
i) The Atheistic Interpretation

Atheists are people who do not believe in the existence. Their argument
consists in a firm denial of any supernatural power that created the
universe or has anything to do with the operation of its processes. All
that happens they say is the result of natural forces acting without
guidance by any intelligence (God) or being directed towards the
achievement of any purpose.
ii) Pantheism

Pantheists identify God with the natural order of things. Spinoza who
supported this position held that the terms God and the universe both
refer to one and the same thing. God is the only real substance and what
human beings call mind and matter, are the two known attributes of this
substance. Hence, both good and evil are merely human points of view.
Men call things good when they bring pleasure and bad when they are
painful.
He argues that, all that happens in the universe takes place according to
logical necessity and nothing could possibly be other than what it is.

iii) Dualistic Philosophies

These recognize the existence of both good and evil. They argue that
good and evil are as a result of opposite forces which have been in
conflict with one another throughout the course of history. One of the
best examples can be found in the philosophy of Zoroastrianism. It holds
that Ahura Mazda, the god of light, is the source of all that is good in the
world and Angra Mainyu or Ahriman is the source of all that is evil. This
is similar in many respects to the conceptions of God and the Devil which
one finds in parts of the New Testament.
The Christian and Zoroastrian view, hold that the conflict between good
and evil is a reality but in the end the good will triumph over evil.
iv) Evil as Punishment for Man’s Sins

Evil as punishment for man’s sins is expressed in many of the writings of

Judaism, Islam and Christianity. God is conceived as an Omnipotent
Being. It is therefore, held that He has complete control of the forces of
nature and can bestow upon human beings the kind of treatment which
they deserve and which in the end will be for their best interests.
Punishment and the threat of punishment are considered to be deterrents
of sinful actions and this is one of the methods that God uses to persuade
people to act in accordance with His commands.
However, It is true that this view is challenged in some parts of the Old
Testament and again in the New Testament story of the healing of the
blind man where the question is raised “who sinned, this man or his
parents that he was born blind?” but one finds it in many of the teachings
of many of the great prophets.

v) Concept of a Limited God

This is an attempt to retain a belief in God without holding that he is

responsible for the evil that is in the world. This is associated with the
view that God has given to human beings the freedom to think for
themselves and to choose between alternative courses of action.
The freedom to choose the right course necessarily implies the freedom to
make a wrong choice. Hence, God is limited by the freedom he has given
to mankind. This means that God has created the possibility of evil but
the responsibility for the choices that are made rests on the people who
make them. This accounts for the moral evil, what about physical evil?
To explain evils of this kind, it is necessary to recognize another limitation
of divine power. When the philosopher Leibnitz stated that this is the
best of all possible worlds, he was emphasizing the fact that God might
have created a world in which there were no laws of nature. However, a
chaotic world would have less possibility for good than the one that He did
create. Therefore, having made the laws of nature, God is limited by
their operation. When for example physical disasters which are not man’s
fault occur, it is not because God wills them but rather, they are the result
of the laws of nature, which operate without respect of persons, including
God!

vi) Necessary Condition for Moral and Spiritual Development

Evil is seen as a necessary condition for the development of human

beings by certain well known philosopher. Moral character is not
developed by a life of ease and comfort but rather by overcoming the
difficulties and hardships that arise in the course of one’s experiences.
The men and women whom we admire most of all are not the ones who
have had an easy time of it. These are the ones who have seen
hardships, deprivations, and at times persecutions, but they have met
those with courage and boldness and as a result they have developed a
character that is above reproach. The evils of the world provide an
opportunity for people to follow their example.

Plato Euthyphro (Jowett translation)

David Hume Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Benedictus de Spinoza Theologico-Political Treatise — Part 1 (Elwes

translation) (part 2 , part 3 , part 4 )

Bertrand Russell Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays (see "Mysticism
and Logic" and "A Free Man's Worship")

Hastings Rashdall Philosophy and Religion: Six Lectures Delivered at

Cambridge

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller Philosophical Letters of Frederich

Schiller

Friedrich Nietzsche The Antichrist (Mencken translation

Summary
We have come to the end of this topic in which we have defined religion,
shown how it begins and develops, and defined the problem of evil and
the proposed solutions to the problem.

Self Assessment

1. Define religion.
2. Explain how religious consciousness begins and develops.
3. Critically evaluate the proofs for the existence of God.
4. a) Explain what is meant by the problem of evil.
b)Discuss the solutions that have been proposed for the problem.
5. Outline the elements of human personality with which religion
develops in connection with.