Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T07:54:52.620Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Can an atheist believe in God?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2005

ANDREW S. ESHLEMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR 72204

Abstract

Some have proposed that it is reasonable for an atheist to pursue a form of life shaped by engagement with theistic religious language and practice, once language and belief in God are interpreted in the appropriate non-realist manner. My aim is to defend this proposal in the face of several objections that have been raised against it. First, I engage in some conceptual spadework to distinguish more clearly some varieties of religious non-realism. Then, in response to two central objections, I seek to articulate the most promising version of the view. I conclude by discussing some practical and moral objections to a non-realist form of religious life.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)