What is Religious Language?

Question 1

What is Religious Language?

Answer 1

Language that deals with God and other theological matters, such as worship, practise, behaviour and doctrine.

We have to draw upon our everyday language to speak on God, e.g., we have no experience of omnipotence, so how can we use the word?

Question 2

What’s the problem with religious language? (1)

Answer 2

If we are to believe in God or some other aspect of religion, we can only do this if we can use language to talk about God in a meaningful way.

Question 3

What’s the problem with religious language? (2)

Answer 3

Religious believers have always claimed that the divine is difficult to express in terms of limited human language.

Question 4

What is the problem with religious language? (3)

Answer 4

For example, in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah found himself in God’s presence and said, ‘Woe is me, a man of unclean lips.’ This conveys the idea that God is transcendent- beyond us and outside of our experience.

Question 5

What us a major distinction in language?

Answer 5

Between which language expresses facts and knowledge, and which language does not.

Question 6

What is cognitive language?

Answer 6

Cognitive language expresses facts and knowledge, for example Sutton Girls is a school in Birmingham.

Question 7

What is non-cognitive language?

Answer 7

Expresses things which we could never know: feelings, values and perhaps metaphysical claims. For example, Sutton Girls is the best school.

Question 8

How does the cognitivism debate relate to Religious Language?

Answer 8

Critics of religion may emphasise the non-cognitive nature of much religious language.