Faith and Reason: Explorations in Philosophy of Religion

Catalog description

Is religious belief essentially opposed to reason? Is an atheistic outlook any more rational than a theistic one? What evidence is there for and against belief in God? In this course we explore central issues in traditional and contemporary philosophy of religion, focusing in particular on questions about the relationship between faith and reason. Over the course of the semester students will explore evidence and arguments both for and against religious belief with the aim of each of us coming to better understand what we believe (or don’t) and why. Among the topics covered in this class are: arguments for God’s existence; the problem of evil; the relationship between science and religion; the nature of religious experience; and the nature of faith.