Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Philosophy of Religion'

Undergraduates and Religion

August 24th, 2010 · No Comments · Atheism and Religion, Cognition and Religion, History of Religions, Philosophy of Religion

Over at HuffPo Religion, Princeton’s dean of religious affairs explains how entering freshmen can “find their religion” during their four years at college by asking (and attempting to answer) three questions:
1. What do you believe?
2. What does your neighbor believe?
3. How do those beliefs affect the choices you and your neighbor are making about how [...]

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Hipster Christianity & Imam Idol

August 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Cultural Evolution of Religion, Globalization and Religion, Philosophy of Religion

In a competitive religious marketplace, producers are becoming increasingly savvy and perhaps even post-modern.  Although some old-timey producers bemoan this commercial development, others are embracing it.
Over at Rupert Murdoch’s transformative Wall Street Journal, the 20-something Brett McCracken churlishly warns his cohort about the “Perils of Hipster Christianity,” and discusses some of the uncool ways in [...]

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Christopher Hitchens’ Humish Interview

August 8th, 2010 · No Comments · Atheism and Religion, History of Religions, Philosophy of Religion

As many know, Christopher Hitchens (the cheeky British gadfly of God) has esophageal cancer.  Although he announced this and took a break to undergo treatment, I noticed last week he had resumed writing some columns.  Yesterday, I found this recent video interview over at The Atlantic; it is simultaneously heart-wrenching and moving.
It is heart-wrenching because [...]

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Morality without God, Buddhism as Religion, and Christian Empire

August 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Classifications of Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Definitions of Religion, History of Religions, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Morality and Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Power and Religion

Incredibly, there are three articles over at HuffPo Religion that I have recently bookmarked for brief discussion here.  There are of course about ten others which reflect the liberal, progressive, ecumenical, and mystical view of religion adhered to by a tiny minority of people, and which will be of interest mostly to the highly educated [...]

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Evolution as Salvation for Theology? Not So.

August 5th, 2010 · No Comments · Evolution and Selection, History of Religions, Philosophy of Religion, Religion as Evolutionary Adaptation, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct

In May of this year, John Avise — an evolutionary biologist at UC-Irvine — published an article (“Footprints of  Nonsentient Design Inside the Human Genome“) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s leading scientific journals.  The article, which attacked Intelligent Design “theory” on the ground that an omnipotent and [...]

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Is “Quantum Consciousness” the Essence of “Spirituality”?

August 2nd, 2010 · No Comments · Classifications of Religion, Cognition and Religion, Definitions of Religion, Methodology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

In “Quantum Consciousness: The Way to Reconcile Science and Spirituality,” Kingsley Dennis elegantly discusses what has proven to the most intractable issue in neuroscience: consciousness.  Because fluctuations and altered states of consciousness are so often linked to the supernatural-religious, I have examined it in many posts, including Consciousness and the Supernatural, which provides a brief [...]

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The Hydra Head of Islam

July 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Globalization and Religion, History of Religions, Philosophy of Religion

Over at HuffPo Religion, Cynthia Boaz has written an earnest piece that implores Americans to think harder about Islam and not simply demonize it.  I agree with much of what she says but the unfortunate fact is that her plea will fall on few or deaf ears.  Not many religious or political extremists are reading [...]

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Professor Condemns Homosexuality on Basis of “Natural Moral Law”

July 11th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Axial Age Religions, Ecology of Religion, Evolution and Selection, History of Religions, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Morality and Religion, Philosophy of Religion

Over at Pharyngula, PZ Myers discusses the case of a professor — teaching at a public university — who presented his Catholic views, disguised as philosophy, on homosexuality to his students.  One student complained to the administration, calling the professor’s position “hate speech.”  PZ Myers disagrees and calls it “stupid speech.”  Myers then proceeds to [...]

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Ancestor Worship: The Epicurean Lucretius

July 10th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Atheism and Religion, Cognition and Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Evolution and Selection, History of Religions, Philosophy of Religion

While doing some background research on the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), I discovered that he had been much influenced by Lucretius, who lived in the first century BCE (around the time of Julius Caesar) and published a six-volume treatise titled On the Nature of Things. As if writing philosophy in narrative form were [...]

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“God Can Be Experienced But Not Explained”

July 9th, 2010 · No Comments · Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Recent and New Religions

Over at WaPo’s Faith section, Martha Woodroof has posted a dreary piece that discourages people from asking religious questions or seeking answers.  Here are some of the more defeatist excerpts:

As people of faith, should we concern ourselves with God’s nature, relatives, ways and history?  I, for one, think we should not. It seems to [...]

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