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Category Archives: Religion
Religion, the Axial Age, and theoretic culture
I recently read the late Robert Bellah’s ‘Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age.’ Although the title of the book seems to narrow it to just religion, in ancient societies, religion was just about everything, so … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Religion
Tagged Ancient History, Anthropology, Axial Age, Evolution, History, Human evolution, Philosophy, Religion, Robert Bellah, Sociology, theoretic culture
20 Comments
Confucianism and the definition of religion
I’ve noted before that defining religion is difficult. Simple definitions (such as belief in gods) tend to either exclude some religions (such as Buddhism), or include things that most people don’t consider to be a religion (such as constitutional law or … Continue reading
Posted in Religion
Tagged Analects, Anthropology, Axial Age, Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, Confucius, History, Mencius, Religion, Sociology, Zhou dynasty
27 Comments
The decline of religion in western societies
Huffington Post UK has published the results of a survey showing that half of Britain thinks religion does more harm than good, and that you don’t need it to be a good person. This seems to be a trend in … Continue reading
Posted in Religion
Tagged Atheism, Christianity, civil religion, Civilization, God, History, Islam, Judaism, Religion, Science, Society, traditional religion
46 Comments
Does the Euthyphro dilemma actually prove anything?
I’m not religious. I don’t think morality comes from God, gods, or any religious precept. But often, when I see debates on whether or not morality can only come from God or religion, an atheist philosopher will mention the Euthyphro … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Religion
Tagged Atheism, Ethics, Euthyphro, Euthyphro dilemma, God, Good and evil, Moral philosophy, Morality, Philosophy, Plato, Socrates
76 Comments
Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion?
In a Skeptical Inquirer article that I’m a bit surprised hasn’t received more attention, Scott O. Lilienfeld and Rachel Ammirati take a look at this question: Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion? A Skeptic’s Guide to the Debate – … Continue reading
Posted in Religion
Tagged Atheism, Dawkins, Francis Bacon, God, New Atheism, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Richard Dawkins, Scott O. Lilienfeld
22 Comments
What is religion?
Pascal Boyer in his book ‘The Fracture of an Illusion’ asserts that religion does not exist. Boyer points out that “religion” doesn’t exist as a concept in most societies. When Boyer, an anthropological expert in religion, says that it doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Religion
Tagged Atheism, Boyer, Christianity, Diamond, Jared Diamond, Judaism, Michael Shermer, Pascal Boyer, Religion, Science, United States
13 Comments
