On behalf of Pascal: A Reply to Le Poidevin

When we were on the subway back from his lecture, I said to Robin: “I’m not sure there actually are any religious fictionalists.” We keep talking about them in papers and lectures, acting as if fictionalism in religion is a real possibility, but to be honest, I haven’t been able to spot one in the w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal for philosophy of religion
Subtitles:Special Issue - Evolutionary Research on Morality and Theological Ethics
Main Author: Gäb, Sebastian 1982- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Innsbruck in cooperation with the John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham [2020]
In: European journal for philosophy of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Cupitt, Don 1934- / Agnosticism / Religion / Fiktionalismus
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AG Religious life; material religion
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:When we were on the subway back from his lecture, I said to Robin: “I’m not sure there actually are any religious fictionalists.” We keep talking about them in papers and lectures, acting as if fictionalism in religion is a real possibility, but to be honest, I haven’t been able to spot one in the wild so far. The only potential candidate who comes to mind is Don Cupitt, who wrote things like: “I still pray and love God, even though I fully acknowledge that no God actually exists.” [1] Perhaps this is as fictionalist as it gets. But then again, Cupitt never explicitly declared himself a fictionalist (at least to my knowledge). Moreover, on other occasions he sounds more like an expressivist than a fictionalist, e.g. when he says: “The Christian doctrine of God just is Christian spirituality in coded form.” [2] So, if there are any actual fictionalists out there, please step forward. [1] Don Cupitt, After God: The Future of Religion (Basic Books, 1997), 85. [2] Don Cupitt, Taking leave of God (SCM Press, 1980), 14.
Contains:Enthalten in: European journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.24204/ejpr.v12i3.3416