Introduction to the Study of Religions: Philosophy of Religion

Author(s)

An adoption and partial rewrite by Tim Jensen and Karna Kjeldsen of an English draft version of an introduction to Horisont - a textbook for the Danish upper-secondary school RE, edited by Associate Professors Annika Hvithamar and Tim Jensen, and Upper-Secondary School teachers Allan Ahle and Lene Niebuhr, published by Gyldendal, Copenhagen 2013. The original introduction was written by Annika Hvithamar and Tim Jensen based on a contribution of C. Shaffalitzky de Muckadell.

Department of the study of religion, University of Southern Denmark

Thanks are extended to the publisher, Gyldendal, as well as to our upper-secondary school IERS partner, Nyborg Gymnasium, for allowing us to use the material and the draft English translation as the basis for this adoption as well for the assistance in the production of this module

Abstract

This module provides an insight into some of the central philosophical approaches to religion as well as examples of discussions and theories. Different tasks and questions are also presented to the students. The first page introduces some of the methods and objectives in the philosophy of religion and the relations between the empirical study of religion, philosophy of religion and theology. The second page presents the tradition of explicit criticism of religion and some of the most well-known critical thinkers on religion. Ethics and religion, or moral philosophy, is introduced on page three and examples on different moral-philosophical branches are presented. Page four and five give examples on some of the classical and contemporary issues in the philosophy of religion and religious themes in political philosophy: the theodicé problem, multiculturalism and minority rights and religion in the public space.