Grant project kickstarts new field of study: experimental philosophy of religion

CNA Staff, Sep 9, 2024 / 16:06 pm

A $2.3 million research grant intended to kickstart a multidisciplinary field of study known as “experimental philosophy of religion” concluded at the end of August after three years of study.

The John Templeton Foundation in September 2021 granted the “Launching Experimental Philosophy of Religion” grant to Ian Church, a professor of philosophy at Hillsdale College, who headed a team of academics and six sub-grant projects.

“Experimental philosophy of religion has seen a flurry of activity in recent years and is quickly emerging as a new and exciting area of scholarly research,” Church told CNA.

Experimental philosophers use empirical data — often gathered through surveys — to research philosophical questions. The budding area of experimental philosophy of religion applies experimental philosophy, as well as psychology and cognitive sciences, to various questions within the philosophy of religion.

“In a sense, experimental philosophy of religion is both old and new,” Church noted. “Old, insofar as the kind of questions that experimental philosophers of religion are typically interested in have been a part of philosophy of religion since its very inception. But experimental philosophy of religion is also new insofar as experimental philosophy has really only been flourishing in the philosophical literature over the past 20 or so years, with experimental philosophy of religion being a latecomer to that literature.” 

In other words, philosophers are using a new method to answer old questions. 

The Templeton Foundation wanted to launch the new field of interdisciplinary research through funding initiatives. The foundation reached out to various research institutions and scholars for sub-grant proposals, resulting in in six sub-grant research projects with academics from top universities.

“Philosophers of religion frequently rely on empirical claims that can be either verified or disproven but without exploring whether they are,” the Templeton website reads. “And philosophers of religion frequently appeal to intuitions which may vary wildly according to education level, theological background, etc., without concern for whether or not the psychological mechanisms that underwrite those intuitions are broadly shared or reliable.”

Experimental philosophy of religion can be instrumental for gathering the data behind these appeals to intuition.

“Experimental philosophy of religion is the project of taking the tools and resources of the human sciences — perhaps especially psychology and cognitive science — and bringing them to bear on important issues within philosophy of religion toward philosophical ends,” Church said. 

“Where do our religious intuitions come from? And do we have a reason to think the cognitive origins of such intuitions are reliable? How might culture, ethnicity, gender, religious tradition, and more shape how we engage with seminal arguments within philosophy of religion? And where intuitions diverge, do we have a principled reason to prioritize our own intuitions over the intuitions of others?” he asked. “These are some of the core questions at the heart of this emerging field of research.”

The program featured a research team at Hillsdale College led by Church as well as Hillsdale philosophy professor Blake McAllister, honorary professor of theology and the sciences at the University of St. Andrews Justin Barrett, Arete Professorial Fellows Paul Rezkalla and Jim Spiegel, project administrator Cindy Hoard, and a team of undergraduate research assistants.

A Catholic response to new philosophies 

When asked how Catholics should engage with new philosophies, Marshall Bierson, a philosophy professor with expertise in philosophy of religion at The Catholic University of America, noted that “Catholics should never be afraid to engage with any new discoveries.”

“Where there is truth, that truth is God's truth and it is something that we should embrace,” Bierson said. “Of course, there will be elements of any human philosophy that will be wrong. So just because we embrace truth does not mean we should embrace any new philosophy or methodology wholesale. But it does mean we should be eager to learn what truths we can.” 

Bierson explained that we should approach philosophies with both charity and discernment. 

“We should always approach views with charity. Concretely, what that means is that we should first and foremost be trying to figure out and embrace what is good and true in a new perspective. Only secondarily do we try to identify and reject what is false,” he noted. 

“That said, it is important to be discerning. It can always be tempting to adopt a new perspective because it seems new or cutting edge,” Bierson continued. “But mere newness itself does not count for anything. It is truth that we are after, and we need to remember that truth itself does not change (though of course, we can get better at discovering truths over time).” 

Experimental philosophy of religion is new, and it has its skeptics. Bierson himself is a skeptic, having “technical concerns” about the methodology of experimental philosophy as well as “broader skepticism” about how it applies to the realm of philosophy.

“The much greater source of skepticism from philosophers stems from the worry that [experimental philosophy] just does not tell us anything of philosophical interest,” he said. “For example, suppose that these studies show that most people cannot think of any good reason why God would allow this animal to suffer. Does that show that there is no good reason? It’s hard to see why maybe God has some reason we did not think of.”

But Church believes that experimental philosophy of religion can help us see past our blind spots to have better dialogue.

When asked why the study is important, Church said “it’s always good to reflect deeply on what can change our mind about important issues, to think about where we might be blind to evidence.”

“Looking into the cognitive mechanisms that underwrite our belief helps us to be reflective in this way and to better develop virtuous intellectual characters,” he explained.

“I think experimental philosophy of religion can help us better see where our perspective on the divine, purpose, evil, and humanity might be idiosyncratic,” Church continued. “This helps us dialogue across religious and cultural boundaries, and it also helps us to be more aware of our own presuppositions and biases. It helps us be more humble and modest.”

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