"What is secularism? Is it possible to separate religion from politics? This critical volume examines the dynamic relationship between the state and religion in India and Europe. It first conceptualizes the nature and challenges of secularism in the wake of radical changes in post-9/11 world politics. Second, in assessing the scope and future of secularism in the actual contexts of its emergence and practice, it redraws the boundaries and definitions of the institutional pillars of the state - judiciary, legislature, and (...) executive - and their interactions with religion across democracies in South Asia and Europe. Including wide-ranging essays by leading scholars, the book stimulates renewed debate on secularism, democracy, identity and multiculturalism in the contemporary world. It will prove invaluable to scholars and students of political science, sociology, philosophy, history, human rights, and legal theory, as well as those concerned with religion and state." from back cover. (shrink)

This essay explores the notion of practical religious knowledge in three steps. I examine a short passage in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (A 132-3 / B 171-2) on judgment, a passage that points out that we (necessarily) know more than we can say or state. I then introduce Michael Polanyi’s account of tacit knowledge to suggest what “religious tacit knowledge” is. Finally, I analyze a text from Master Eckhart’s Counsels on Discernment (Reden der Unterweisung) to show the relevance of (...) this notion of practical (or tacit) knowledge in religious contexts. (shrink)

We are happy to present the proceedings of the international symposium on Rationality and Religious Trust which were held at the University of Antwerp in this volume of Bijdragen. Rationality and religious trust is of course a topic that falls within the scope of the epistemology of religion. Contemporary epistemology of religion has been the scene of a vigorous debate about the nature of religious belief, or more precisely about the role of rationality and rational argument with respect to religious (...) belief. What is at stake in the debate, is the very way the concept of belief applies to the religious life. More specifically, the issue is about the place to be reserved for belief within the religious life at large, and again, about the role played especially by rational arguments in holding or not holding those beliefs. (shrink)

In deze tijd van secularisering is het begrijpelijk dat men de filosofie van de religie vaak wil beperken tot een kritiek van de religie en tot de kritische bespreking van de bekende godsbewijzen. 0Dit handboek kiest voor een andere aanpak. De filosofie van de religie is geen monolithische discipline. Filosofie van de religie is soms een binnen-religieuze aangelegenheid waarin de filosofie wordt ingezet als een hulpwetenschap voor de theologie, soms gaat het om een zuiver rationele aangelegenheid, soms domineert een naturalistische (...) blik en soms poogt men vooral de betekenis van het religieuze te verhelderen. Al deze modellen van filosofie van de religie komen hieraan bod en worden in hun historische ontwikkeling besproken. Daarom vertrekt dit handboek niet van de 'gedachte God' van metafysici en wetenschappers ('des philosophes et des savants', Pascal), maar veeleer van de geleefde religie ('la religion vécue', 'lived religion') om na te gaan hoe het religieuze in de praktijk functioneert en wat de betekenis ervan is: "Wat betekent het religieus te zijn?" is een belangrijker vraag dan "Is religie waar?". (shrink)

Occassioned by the recent publication of the Dutch translation of Varieties of Religion Today this critical notice tries to present and discuss Charles Taylor’s main arguments in that book. His treatment of William James and his historical assessment of our contemporary religious situation are thought to have enormous diagnostic value.