Discerning Progress in Schellenberg's Evolutionary Religion
(2024) In Zygon 59(2). p.436-455- Abstract
- John L. Schellenberg has suggested that we should guide the evolution of religion towards the goal of discovering the truth about transcendent reality. I argue that we need some way of discerning progress if this project is to be practically feasible. I explore what discernible progress would require in some possible future scenarios. Focus lies on scenarios involving improved cognitive contact with the transcendent, but I also consider scenarios involving only cultural change, and scenarios where no transcendent reality exists. I conclude that whether progress can be discerned varies heavily between different versions of these scenarios and I therefore suggest that we are currently too ignorant to get the project started.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/0f88b2b0-82ff-44d8-b2de-b1ce41480b93
- author
- Palmqvist, Carl-Johan LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Future of Religion, Schellenberg, Evolutionary Religion, Agnosticism, Religious Progress
- in
- Zygon
- volume
- 59
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 20 pages
- publisher
- Open Library of Humanities
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85208380358
- ISSN
- 0591-2385
- DOI
- 10.16995/zygon.11206
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 0f88b2b0-82ff-44d8-b2de-b1ce41480b93
- date added to LUP
- 2024-02-19 15:17:12
- date last changed
- 2025-06-18 09:45:40
@article{0f88b2b0-82ff-44d8-b2de-b1ce41480b93,
abstract = {{John L. Schellenberg has suggested that we should guide the evolution of religion towards the goal of discovering the truth about transcendent reality. I argue that we need some way of discerning progress if this project is to be practically feasible. I explore what discernible progress would require in some possible future scenarios. Focus lies on scenarios involving improved cognitive contact with the transcendent, but I also consider scenarios involving only cultural change, and scenarios where no transcendent reality exists. I conclude that whether progress can be discerned varies heavily between different versions of these scenarios and I therefore suggest that we are currently too ignorant to get the project started.}},
author = {{Palmqvist, Carl-Johan}},
issn = {{0591-2385}},
keywords = {{Future of Religion; Schellenberg; Evolutionary Religion; Agnosticism; Religious Progress}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{436--455}},
publisher = {{Open Library of Humanities}},
series = {{Zygon}},
title = {{Discerning Progress in Schellenberg's Evolutionary Religion}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.16995/zygon.11206}},
doi = {{10.16995/zygon.11206}},
volume = {{59}},
year = {{2024}},
}