Philosophy of Religion: Examining Cultural and Religious Impact

This essay delves into the philosophy of religions, examining its role in shaping diverse cultures and religious viewpoints. It discusses how religions contribute to social cohesion and the importance of harmony in multicultural societies. The analysis covers various concepts, themes, and beliefs from philosophical perspectives, distinguishing between theistic and non-theistic religious traditions. Key topics include the diversity of religions, religious languages, concepts of God, arguments for and against God's existence, miracles, and the problem of evil and suffering. The essay also explores the analytic view of philosophy and religion, addressing the clarity of religious ideas and concepts, and contrasting realism and non-realism in religious beliefs. Ultimately, the essay concludes that understanding and applying the principles of the philosophy of religions can lead to a more honest and pure way of life, contributing to the betterment of society.

Running head: PHILOSPHY
Philosophy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The philosophy of religions has been regarded as one of the most important aspects for
shaping up the cultures of the society. The aim of this essay is to discuss about the role of the
philosophy in the different cultures of the society and religions. It has to be mentioned that the
religions play a vital role in the cohesion of different people within the society. This is why the
people would have to be very cautious about the ways they could live within the society where
people from the different religions live (Griffith-Dickson, 2012).
In a multicultural society, people from different religions have to live in harmony to
avoid the conflicts and collisions in their viewpoints and seeing the society in different ways.
The different religious traditions have different central themes and this has to conform to the
general view of the society (Avis, 2013). The people outside the society would have to view this
phenomenon from how organized the society is and how they co-exist irrespective of their
different traditions. There are several challenges in this context as well to live in the society with
different viewpoints and still living as a cohesive unit.
The philosophy of religions and culture
The philosophy of the religions is basically the study of the religion and culture from
various angles regarding the philosophical interpretations. Several concepts, themes and beliefs
would have to be analyzed in this section indeed (Griffith-Dickson, 2012). Many philosophical
terms and beliefs would have to be discussed in this context since the arguments would focus on
the religious interpretations of philosophy from the viewpoints of the several people indeed. The
study of the philosophy of religions has often been made limited within the sphere of the several
theistic religions (Gall, 2012). The relevant studies have been made in this context since the

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concepts of God and reality have been intermixed for the better outcomes indeed. This study has
received a broader and global approach indeed. The religious traditions could be divided into the
theism and non-theism (Broad, 2014). The philosophers have followed both the traditional and
analytic traditions in order to talk about the concept. The study about the philosophy and
religions will be broad and diversified. The decisions will depend on the outcomes based on the
religious themes and interpretations. Both the philosophical and religious thinkers have pointed
their opinions from the Eastern and Western sections. The discussions will surely range upon the
different fields like theology, psychology, sociology, history, natural sciences and others (Broad,
2014).
The philosophy has been practiced in the several regions like Europe and North America.
Some of the potential factors that could be described in this context are- diversity of religions,
religious languages and beliefs, concepts related to God or the Ultimate Reality, arguments made
in favor and against the existence of God in this world, miracles that happen in the world by God
and the problems related to evils and suffering in this world as well (Randau & Medinskaya,
2015). The analytic view of the philosophy or religion depends on the clarity of the different
ideas and concepts. It is because the various religious ideas and concepts are often regarded as
vague indeed (Avis, 2013). The religious sayings are often mysterious and the underlying things
would have to be acknowledged properly indeed. The aspect of the logical positivism could be
attributed to the use of the religious philosophy (Randau & Medinskaya, 2015). The basic things
could be full of much ambiguity indeed. In this light it can be said that the several religious
sayings like ‘Atman is Brahman’ can be considered as completely meaningless indeed. The
context of the logical positivism became much prominent in the mid centuries so this belief of
the philosophy of religions became much intense indeed (Ferré, 2013).

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The religious beliefs and language could be ascribed to the views of the realism and non-
realism in the best ways for the thorough development of the philosophy of religions. According
to some of the critics the linguistic aspects of the religion could be considered as very much
important matters for the several human activities (Gall, 2012). In the words of the religious
scholars the language is simply a mode of human activities and not a picture of the overall
philosophy of religions. When the people would talk about their culture and the ways they see
the God would be through the lens of the language indeed (Ferré, 2013). One of the best
examples of the non-realists was Sigmund Freud who wanted to make transformations in the
ideas of religion. In this context, he had completely rejected the correlation of the history and
religion in different manners (Rambachan, 2014). When discussing about the philosophy of
religions, Freud had completely turned down the aspect of the eternal truth and substituted it with
that of the improvising power of the human beings. The practice of spirituality could be the
guiding matter for understanding the theological aspects (Zuurdeeg, 2013).
These guiding myths would be very important for the proper understanding of the
relevant issues within the society. The non-realists have noted that the realism has not been able
to stand up to the potential to which it was expected. In this context, it could be said that the
justifications could not be given to the matter of realism for understanding the philosophical
truths in the general matter (Paton, 2014). The religious underpinnings could be determined by
various religious structures and perceptions that could put up several religious claims and
practices. The transcendent realms could be identified when goes beyond the religious
boundaries within the society. The religions practices in the Western countries are completely
based on theism to be precise. The different religions have different beliefs but these beliefs lack
the proper evidence (Paton, 2014). The Buddhists do not believe in the existence of the true God

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but the Muslims believe that there is a true God indeed. They call it the Allah. The existence of
the Ultimate Reality is very much there among the Advaita Vedanta Hindus who believe in the
Brahman people only (Edwards, 2016). It has to be mentioned in this context that the route to the
two of the biggest religions of the world, Christianity and Muslim are almost the same indeed.
This is why they believe in the salvation of the human beings as their primary motto. They also
have the belief that the human beings will surely get united with the God after the end of their
mortal life. On the contrary, the Buddhist people believe in the idea of Nirvana (Rambachan,
2014).
These diversified beliefs really conform to the notion of the religious pluralism. It is also
included in the philosophy of culture and philosophy. Some of the most important religions that
could be mentioned here are Buddhism, Daosim, Confucianism, Hinduism, Christianity and
African religions (Edwards, 2016). The Eastern religions could be compared highly with the
non-theistic religions in the best ways. The philosophy or religion tradition could be attributed to
the western philosophy and culture as well. There are several doctrines related to the above
mentioned several religions. The critics have argued that these things are not at all that much
important as the religion itself (McGrath, 2016). The believers of different religions have
interpreted the different things in the world in different ways indeed. The philosophy of the
religions had led the people to believe that the Ultimate Reality can be deemed to be something
personal (McGrath, 2016). Other religions have also deemed it to be impersonal as well. One of
the biggest questions in the Ultimate Reality is that of the existence of God and the nature in
which He operates. However, in Christianity, God has been seen as the omnipotent being that
controls the ultimate things in the world. He punishes the offenders for the deeds through Karma
(McGrath, 2016).

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Apart from all these concepts the theme and concept of the Ultimate Reality would be
defined from the various aspects of the different religions. The theme of the Ultimate Reality is
believed to be as Tao by the Taoists, the Hindus believe in the Brahman (Chethimattam, 2017).
The Buddhist people believe in the themes of the Shunyata and Nirvana to be the Ultimate
Reality of the world. There have been many debates across the world about the importance of the
several religions and the ways they would attract the attention of the several followers (McGrath,
2016). The several religions like Hinduism, Muslim, Christianity, Native American and African
religion have often argued over the relevance of the theism in different contexts indeed. The
divine attributes of the God will be discussed in the theological matters as well. The people will
do all the things according to the will of God. If God wills, the people will do the things freely.
According to the scholars, the existence of God will be there but he will not be omniscient as
well. The aspect of the theism will be coherent and the different aspects of the monotheism
should be practiced in this manner as well (McGrath, 2016).
The problems regarding the evil and suffering are very important as well. It is only
because the people will suffer their fate because of their deeds. When the people will face the
result of their deeds this will clearly be according to the cultures and religions of the society. The
religious practices will be reflected in the several customs and cultures of the society in the
different ways. On the contrary it can also be said that if the God only leads the human beings to
the good deeds, there would be no evils (McGrath, 2016). However, the human beings suffer the
evil so some critics have opined that the existence of the God has no value indeed. Both these
aspects should be taken into the account to make sure the overall development of the human
beings. God is Omni-benevolent and this power of God will surely lead the human beings to do
good for the society and exhibit the good customs as a part of their culture.

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Conclusion
According to the above discussion, it can be concluded that the human beings believe
what they are taught by the society. They tend to follow the things mentioned in the several
religious books. The omnipotent power of God will surely lead to the betterment of the society in
various ways. However, the different attributes of the philosophy of religions will lead the
human beings towards the overall salvation of the human beings from their sins. They will learn
to live their lives in an honest and pure way indeed.

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References
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Zuurdeeg, W. F. (2013). An analytical philosophy of religion. Routledge.