New Studies in Critical Realism and Spirituality Routledge Critical Realism – serie

Religious Education and Critical Realism: Knowledge, Reality and Religious Literacy seeks to bring the enterprise of religious education in schools, colleges and universities into conversation with the philosophy of Critical Realism. This book addresses the problem, not of the substance of our primal beliefs about the ultimate nature of reality and our place in the ultimate order-of-things, but of the process through which we might attend to questions of substance in more attentive, reasonable, responsible and intelligent ways. This book unpacks the impact of modern and post-modern thought on key topics whilst also generating a new critically realistic vision. Offering an account of the relationship between Religious Education and Critical Realism, this book is essential reading for students, scholars and practitioners interested in philosophy, theology and education.

Critical Realism and Spirituality contextualizes, delineates, explores and critiques the turn to spirituality and religion in critical realism, which has been under way since the mid-1990s, as well as telling its story. It provides incisive discussion and anaysis of the following broad questions: How does critical realism allow and facilitate the resolution of problems in the area of comparative religion? Can it help you to justify your own faith or belief? What are the implications of the new philosophy of meta-Reality for traditional religious studies and how we organize and conduct our lives? A range of distinguished critical realists, theological critical realists and scholars working with related approaches (Roland Benedikter, Roy Bhaskar, Terry Eagleton, Mervyn Hartwig, Alister McGrath, Markus Molz, Jamie Morgan, Andrew Wright and others) bring their talents to bear on this task. While their personal beliefs span the whole spectrum from theism to atheism, they are united by the desire to open up a space for dialogue of one kind or another (intra-faith, inter-faith and/or extra-faith), promoting mutual understanding, respect and the unity and capability for collective emancipatory action on a global scale that humanity is so sorely in need of. This book is therefore, essential reading for students and academics alike in Religous Studies, Theology and Philosophy.

One of the key achievements of critical realism has been to expose the modernist myth of universal reason, which holds that authentic knowledge claims must be objectively ‘pure’, uncontaminated by the subjectivity of local place, specific time and particular culture. Wright aims to address the lack of any substantial and sustained engagement between critical realism and theological critical realism with particular regard to: (a) the distinctive ontological claims of Christianity; (b) their epistemic warrant and intellectual legitimacy; and (c) scrutiny of the primary source of the ontological claims of Christianity, namely the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth. As such, it functions as a prolegomena to a much needed wider debate, guided by the under-labouring services of critical realism, between Christianity and various other religious and secular worldviews. This important new text will help stimulate a debate that has yet to get out of first gear.This book will appeal to academics, graduate and post-graduate students especially, but also Christian clergy, ministers and informed laity, and members of the general public concerned with the nature of religion and its place in contemporary society.

Religious Education and Critical Realism: Knowledge, Reality and Religious Literacy seeks to bring the enterprise of religious education in schools, colleges and universities into conversation with the philosophy of Critical Realism. This book addresses the problem, not of the substance of our primal beliefs about the ultimate nature of reality and our place in the ultimate order-of-things, but of the process through which we might attend to questions of substance in more attentive, reasonable, responsible and intelligent ways. This book unpacks the impact of modern and post-modern thought on key topics whilst also generating a new critically realistic vision. Offering an account of the relationship between Religious Education and Critical Realism, this book is essential reading for students, scholars and practitioners interested in philosophy, theology and education.

Critical Realism and Spirituality contextualizes, delineates, explores and critiques the turn to spirituality and religion in critical realism, which has been under way since the mid-1990s, as well as telling its story. It provides incisive discussion and anaysis of the following broad questions: How does critical realism allow and facilitate the resolution of problems in the area of comparative religion? Can it help you to justify your own faith or belief? What are the implications of the new philosophy of meta-Reality for traditional religious studies and how we organize and conduct our lives? A range of distinguished critical realists, theological critical realists and scholars working with related approaches (Roland Benedikter, Roy Bhaskar, Terry Eagleton, Mervyn Hartwig, Alister McGrath, Markus Molz, Jamie Morgan, Andrew Wright and others) bring their talents to bear on this task. While their personal beliefs span the whole spectrum from theism to atheism, they are united by the desire to open up a space for dialogue of one kind or another (intra-faith, inter-faith and/or extra-faith), promoting mutual understanding, respect and the unity and capability for collective emancipatory action on a global scale that humanity is so sorely in need of. This book is therefore, essential reading for students and academics alike in Religous Studies, Theology and Philosophy.