Don't people realize that religion is not philosopy?

Question

Why are there so many religious questions in this section, when there is already a Y!A section devoted to religion and spirituality? Don't people realize that philosophy is about the search for truth, not the search for faith?

Answer 1

they are probably the same people who think evolution is a religion.

Answer 2

Sorry man, but I think that you should not be so offended by the religious and spiritual talk on this site. Do religions not claim to be the truth? Do they not seek to describe the world, the universe as it truly is? There is such a field as Philosophy of Religion. You do not search for faith, you either have it or you don't. If you're searching for faith, then you probably do not have it. "Religion" is formalized, idolatrized philosophy. Some of the greatest philosophers of all time were deeply religious people. It seems to me that any credible philosopher's work in epistemology, metaphysics and ethics covers many of the areas that religion addresses. My question for you is:

Dont you realize that religion is organized philosophy?

Answer 3

Well person, there is philosophy of religion, philosophy of logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of dance... and so on. If philosophy wasn't able to give its take on these subjects, it would hace much to work with. Besides, once you start thinking of metaphysics, the truth you find seems to be so intangible that it may come out looking like faith but feeling like a lot more, and actually, spirituality is the search for truth, it is the search for what truth is to you, and hopefully you would then realize, if you came to what is truth, that it is the same truth for everyone, to simply except everything and understand it.

Answer 4

Philosophy is the search for wisdom (Sophia). Some people believe wisdom can be found through religion. That's why they believe religion is philosophy. It has been dubbed revelationism. Theology is also a branch of academic philosophy, at least historically.
Questions of philosophy and religion tend to overlap because they both seek to answer the same questions. (metaphysical and ethical questions in particular).
So you might not like the idea, but philosophy can not completely ignore religion, if only as a counterpoint.

Answer 5

The word philosophy means a love of wisdom. Most world philosophies begin with the premise that wisdom can be arrived at by human reason. There is a transcendent wisdom disclosed in the Word of God, the Jewish Scriptures (and I include therein the New Testament) which discloses ultimate reality and the perception of truth which cannot be arrived at by reason, because there is a dimension of reality that cannot be perceived by the reason but only by revelation of spiritual truth as disclosed to the human spirit by the Spirit of God. No man can attain to the knowledge of God (ultimate Truth)by the light of natural reason. How can you come to sound conclusions when you don't have all the facts?

Answer 6

I think we are living in a philosophical Dark Ages, at least in this country. Where is philosophy or critical thinking taught before entering a college curriculum? The closest I ever encountered it was through the works of writers such as Camus. Ideas which challenge beliefs or raise hackles tend to simply not be taught. People are simply ignorant, and whether that happens passively or willfully, the result is the same.

Answer 7

Don't you realize that any organized system of belief can be included under the umbrella term of philosophy? Or that religion is also about the search for truth?

Or that you misspelled "philosophy" in the question itself?

Answer 8

WordNet - Cite This Source

philosophy

n 1: a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school [syn: doctrine, philosophical system, school of thought, ism] 2: the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics 3: any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation; "self-indulgence was his only philosophy"; "my father's philosophy of child-rearing was to let mother do it"

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source
phi·los·o·phy (f-ls-f) Pronunciation Key Audio pronunciation of "philosophy" [P]
n. pl. phi·los·o·phies

1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
2. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
3. A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.
4. The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
5. The disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.
6. The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
7. A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.
8. A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.

Answer 9

It is difficult to categorize philosophy because philosophizing makes up so much of what we do in life - there is no escaping it for anyone who want to think clearly or think about important subjects.

One of the more entertaining aspects of the philosophy of religion is to examine how religion influences modern culture and how culture in turn influences religion. Religion in film, religion in books, economic analyses of religion - these are all a part of religious philosophy.

The Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion and theology isn’t always sharp because they share much in common. Theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions. Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.

Questions asked in the Philosophy of Religion:
Does God exist?
Is religious belief reasonable?
What is the nature of religious experiences?
What is the value of faith?
Why does Evil exist?

Theology relies upon religious scriptures (like the Bible or the Quran) as authoritative, those texts are simply objects of study in the Philosophy of Religion. Authorities in this latter field are reason, logic, and research, because whatever the specific topic being discussed, the central aim of the Philosophy of Religion is to scrutinize religious claims for the purpose of formulating either a rational explanation or a rational response to them.

The Philosophy of Religion relies heavily on Epistemology because it evaluates religious truth claims, on Metaphysics because it investigates the fundamental nature of various aspects of reality, and on Ethics because religion plays an important role in moral claims and moral decision making.

Answer 10

Yes, it is. They're both a system of beliefs that one uses as a map to help them find their own "right path" through life, the main difference is that religious people are centered around death and how to get into heaven when death comes knocking on their door and philosophical people are centered around life and living it in the best way they can just for the sake of being the best person they can, with little regard as to whether or not it'll get them into heaven.

Answer 11

Spam, religion and philosophy are two sides to the same coin ya can't have one without the other. Nether is a definitive answer both are needed. Besides Nietzsche even got into the religion angle with god is dead.