WAB Learns: Theory of Knowledge: Knowledge and Religion

Key Concepts

Who has religious knowledge, and what is it about?

Does religion address problems that cannot be resolved by other disciplines and fields? Does religious knowledge create meaning and purpose?

Are religious beliefs rational? Does it matter? Is reason enough? Is certainty any more or less attainable in religion than it is in the arts or human sciences? Where should the burden of proof lie – on those proving, or disproving an idea?

Argument by Design
GCSE: This argument points to evidence that suggests our world works well - ie that it was designed in a specific way. The argument follows that if it was designed like this, then someone or something must have designed it.
Religious Experience
It is argued that if someone feels they have experienced God, this will be the most convincing proof of God’s existence because they have personally experienced or felt God for themselves.
Moral Argument
The argument claims that because all people have a sense of what is right and wrong, such a sense must have come from someone or something outside ourselves.
Bound to Believe?
Pascal Boyer explains a slew of cognitive traits predispose us to faith.

Does religion provide a way to systematise concepts of right and wrong?

MLK: God's Immanence and Civil Rights
Pew Report: World views on religion and morality
Does Religion Make People Moral?
Should we expect those with religious knowledge to act more ethically than those without it?
Does religion promote violence?
By William T. Cavanaugh, 2013, America Magazine.

What role do analogy and metaphor play in the production and communication of religious ideas?

From Myth to Science: Can we make sense of the origins of all things?
Podcast: Exploring the World's Creation Myths
Leeming says that the importance of myths is metaphorical, and they were not meant to be taken literally.
Interpreting Genesis Before Darwin

Things that make you go hmmm....

PODCAST SERIES: Living with the Gods
fantastic collection exploring various aspects of religion and societies.
The Big Bang is a creation myth
Faith and Disease
Roots of Religion, Part 1
How and why did religion evolve?
Roots of Religion, Part 2
is religion instinctual?
Is Science a Religion?
Do those who reject science merely belong to a different faith community?
Pastafarianism and the courts
How can we evaluate the quality of religious knowledge claims?
INTERACTIVE: Garden of Earthly Delights
clickable examination of Bosch's painting exploring morality and life's temptations.
Atheism is inconsistent with science
To what extent do scientific developments have the power to influence thinking about religion?
Apologies for blasphemous comedy sketch
Is it every OK to mock religion?
What is sacred in sacred art?
Alan Lightman on science, religion and our yearning for absolute knowledge
Interview with Alan Lightman from MIT on science and religion and the quest for absolute knowledge.
Tomorrow's gods: What is the future of religion?
BBC article by Sumit Paul-Choudhury.
Truth in Religion
Mortimer Adler long essay on truth in religion. Chapters two and four are especially relevant.
It seems biology (not religion) equals morality
Marc Hauser article on the biological basis for moral behaviour.
Why don't religious people know more about religion?
Pacific Standard article by Jay Livingston discussing a 2010 Pew Survey.
Religion and Knowledge: The Sociological Agenda
Chapter from a book by Mathew Guest and Elisabeth Arweck; suggest short section on pages 3-5 on religion and knowledge in the contemporary context.
Religion has nothing to do with science–and vice versa
Guardian article on religion and science.