Critiques of Religion

Question 1

Provide some general criticisms against religious belief (overlapping with topics).

Answer 1

• It’s harder to find evidence that God exists
• Religious belief is inconsistent (e.g., Christian sexual ethics)
• New Testament ~ author bias to promote Christian agenda
• Euthyphro dilemma ~ theist should believe in higher power than the source of good ~ not “God”

Question 2

Provide criticisms from scholars against religious belief.

Answer 2

• Darwin ~ Theory of Evolution disproves Genesis story
• Russell ~ universe’s existence is a “brute fact
• Berger & Malinosli ~ religion is a mechanism to cope with stress
• Freud ~ “universal obsessional neurosis”

Question 3

What is the Enlightenment period?

Answer 3

• Time of massive social change
• Church ruled society norms ~ affected them massively
• Fuedal system (Kings at the top and peasants at the bottom, representing God vs us)

Question 4

How does Immanuel Kant view the enlightmenet period as?

Answer 4

Shift in thinking is a posteriori –> a priori

Question 5

What does Merold Westphal argue?

Answer 5

• There is a distinction between “kernel” and “husk” of religion, we should discard the husk
• We should solely focus on the kernel (reason) of religion, knowing God through reason only

Question 6

Provide some general sociological critiques of religion.

Answer 6

• Organised religion promotes discrimination and inequality of society
• “Man makes religion, religion does not make man” (Marx)
• We are born into a society with its own religion. Individuals didn’t create religion, society did. The beliefs pre-exist the individual whose life will be shaped by them.

Question 7

Provide some general psychological critiques of religion.

Answer 7

• There are multiple naturalistic explanations for religious experiences
• Freud’s theory does not undermine the possibility religious experiences are experiences of God. We can’t evaluate the truth by just its origins. We should look at its effects on our life. (James)

Question 8

Provide some general philosophical critiques of religion.

Answer 8

• The existence of suffering in the world derides the existence of God of Classical Theism.
• To demonstrate that religion has a social function doesn’t mean it has no objective reality. If we can isolate a valid human need, we for religion, we can’t conclude the origin of beliefs is the need itself.

Question 9

Provide some general scientific critiques of religion.

Answer 9

• Darwin’s theory of evolution goes against the idea of God being a designer
• Since the Renaissance era, scientific knowledge has expanded and contradicted traditional biblical assumptions. Science has proven that the universe proceeds as if God doesn’t exist.

Question 10

What is Hume’s overall critique of religion?

Answer 10

• Analogy is flawed ~ limited human experience
• Fallacy of composition ~ the idea of the universe needing a creator is a logical leap we cannot easily make
• “The non-existence of any being without exception, is as clear and distinct an idea as its existence”

Question 11

What is Marx’s overall critique of religion?

Answer 11

• Religion is a social institution
• You cannot make truth claims (e.g., not going to church on Sunday is not morally wrong)
• Irrational ~ avoids recognising underlying reality (leading to inequality)
• Religion is hypocritical (can cause oppression/strict regulations on followers)

Question 12

What is Freud’s overall critique of religion?

Answer 12

• Psychological
• Man’s need for wish fulfilment, society’s desire to have a father figure who rewards and punishes
• Religion stems from “guilt”
• “universal obsessional ritual”

Question 13

What is Dawkin’s overall critique of religion?

Answer 13

• “When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion, it is called religion
• Religion is an enemy to science, as people rely on myths and discredited stories