For Edward Walker
1932–2018
Third Edition
polity
Copyright © Beverley Clack and Brian R. Clack 2019
The right of Beverley Clack and Brian R. Clack to be identified as Authors of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 1998 by Polity Press
This edition published in 2019 by Polity Press
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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-1696-4
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Clack, Beverley, author. | Clack, Brian R., author.
Title: The philosophy of religion : a critical introduction / Beverly Clack, Brian R. Clack.
Description: 3 [edition]. | Medford, MA : Polity, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018041108 (print) | LCCN 2018051510 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509516964 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509516926 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509516933 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Religion--Philosophy. | Theism.
Classification: LCC BL51 (ebook) | LCC BL51 .C537 2019 (print) | DDC 210--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018041108
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It is with delight that we find ourselves writing a preface to the third edition of our critical introduction to the philosophy of religion. Ten years have elapsed since the previous edition, and it is with some satisfaction that we find that, while we have amended and expanded parts of that last edition, some of our more distinctive interventions have stood the test of time.
In the 2008 edition, we suggested that the philosophy of religion might have something important to add to discussions of the Age of Terror. Our focus was on the events of September 11th and the problems arising from supernaturalist accounts of religion. In rejecting the absolutist claims of religious fundamentalists, we argued for an understanding of religion as something which arises in response to the existential terror of the human condition.
While the years since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 have been designated ‘the Age of Austerity’, a phrase particularly resonant in the context of the UK, the Age of Terror has never gone away. Arguably, with the rise of so-called Islamic State or Daesh, the violence of religious terror groups has become more extreme, more horrific, more sadistic. At the same time, Christian fundamentalism has achieved the goal of placing a Populist Right leader in Washington who is amenable to the rejection of social liberal policies. Indeed, part of the success of Donald Trump’s campaign to become US President in 2016 is attributable to his courtship of the Religious Right, who supported him as a means of curbing access to abortion. Given the strength of certain forms of religion in shaping the political and social agenda, it would seem that there has never been a greater need to turn a critical eye on religion and its ability to justify action, for good and for ill.
Alongside reflection on these developments, and a renewed attempt to show the significance of a socially engaged philosophy of religion, significant changes are also to be found in the section on feminist philosophy of religion. This is not surprising. As with our reflections on terror, so feminist philosophers have sought to make their ideas socially applicable, and thus there has been development of this field since the last edition.
Ten years is a long time, and a significant change in our relationship with religion should also be noted that makes writing this work perhaps more conversational than before. Beverley has returned to religious practice. In part this was about rejecting the reductionist framing for life in Western societies shaped by neoliberal economic theory. It was also about a desire for depth. Brian’s engagement with religion remains distant. These differences have not influenced the shape of the book as much as one might think. There remains the belief that philosophers of religion are best advised to consider religion as a human practice. Whatever we make of the idea of God, religious belief and practice never drop ready formed from the heavens. They are always moulded by human reflection on the nature and meaning of the universe. This does, however, necessitate a shift in the lexicon. Rather than offering an explicitly humanist account of religion, we offer instead the kind of perspective developed by John Cottingham in his Philosophy of Religion: Towards a More Humane Approach (2014). This enables the grounding of religion in human experience, and the requirement that any acceptable form of religious belief or practice should enable kindness and compassion. To come to such a position may well require de-centering the human and placing the concerns of human life within the broader frame of the universe. As a result, the language of humanism may not be as helpful as we thought in 2008.
Philosophy of religion is a subject whose chief material tends not to change: the arguments for the existence of God, the attributes of the omni-god, the problems with monotheistic constructions of the divine. These historical concerns remain central to this text, but we also show the potential of a critical engagement with religion for social and political life. In an age where many people seem all too ready to ignore facts, truth and compassion in favour of deceit and bullying, these qualities are important, and in investigating religion we trust that our reader shares our desire to cultivate more reflective engagements with belief and what makes for the meaningful life.
Beverley Clack and Brian R. Clack, October 2018
Every attempt has been made to trace copyright holders. The authors and the publishers would like to apologize in advance for any inadvertent use of copyright material.
We would like to thank the following for their help and support in the writing of this book: Rebecca Harkin for suggesting and supporting this project in the first place, Pascal Porcheron at Polity for his oversight of this third edition and Justin Dyer for his careful and thoughtful copy-editing of the text; the much-missed Pamela Sue Anderson, as well as Jo Campbell, Philippa Donald, Jonathan Herapath, Lisa Isherwood, Felicity McCutcheon, Cathryn McKinney, Tom McKone and Yvonne Sherwood, for illuminating discussions on the nature of religious belief in the contemporary world; and innumerable colleagues, mentors and friends, especially Sally Adams McKone, Sonia Andjelkovic, Keith Bernstein, Luke Brunning, Sarah Claridge, Adam Clayton, Serena Cobley, Dominic Corrywright, Jack Crumley II, Gene Flenady, Martin Groves, Dominic Helps, Penny Hill, Tyler Hower, Emma McNicol, Dana Mills, Noelle Norton, Helen O’Sullivan, Michele Paule, John Prangnell, Dean Rackham, Paul Savile, Celia Stringer, Chon Tejedor, Kate Tomas, Lori Watson and Denise Wood. We would also like to thank our parents Alan Clack and Ann Clack, who by their love and support continue to teach us many invaluable lessons about how best to live in the world.
We count ourselves blessed to have the treasured love of two extraordinary human beings: Sabrina Kaiser, who is a treasured addition to the Clack family; and Robert Lindsey, who, in addition to being a marvellous husband, is also a generally acceptable brother-in-law. Thanks and love to you both. Finally, we dedicate this book to the memory of Edward Walker, an inspirational teacher, without whom none of this would have been possible.