The Religious Philosophy of Roger Scruton

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In his most recent work, the contemporary philosopher Roger Scruton has turned his attention to religion. Although a religious sensibility ties together his astonishingly prodigious and dynamic output as a philosopher, poet and composer, his recent exploration of religious and theological themes from a philosophical point of view has excited a fresh response from scholars. This collection of writings addresses Scrutons challenging and subtle philosophy of religion for the first time. The volume includes contributions from those who specialize in the philosophy of religion, the history of thought and culture, aesthetics, and church history. The collection is introduced by Mark Dooley, author of two books on Scruton, and includes a response to the writings from Scruton himself in which he develops his idea of the sacred and the erotic and defends the integrity of his work as an attempt to give a sense of the Lebenswelt (or 'lifeworld'): how humans experience the world. He argues that religion emerges from that experience and transforms us from beings bound by causal necessity into persons who acknowledge freedom, obligation and right. A unique and fascinating collection of writings that sheds light on this hitherto unexplored aspect of Roger Scruton's philosophy.

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Between scorched earth atheism and warring religious dogmas, there is a space where our humanity and our hunger for transcendence is to be found. Roger Scruton is one of the most rigorous, imaginative, and penetrating explorers of this territory. The Religious Philosophy of Roger Scruton is a much needed guide to this central aspect of his thought. The range and quality of the contributions is a tribute to his extraordinary reach. * Raymond Tallis *

Author Bio

James Bryson is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Research on Religion (CREOR) at McGill University, Canada.