CSR and Religious Belief: Epistemic Friends or Foes?

Abstract

Abstract This chapter critically discusses three epistemic arguments that draw on CSR theories. Although all arguments vary considerably, they all refer to CSR theories in at least one of their premises. A first argument argues that religious belief is epistemically tainted because of the evolutionary history of the mechanisms that produce it. A second argument argues that the mechanisms that produce religious belief do not accurately grasp truths about the world. A third argument argues that religious belief merits a positive epistemic status because it is the natural result of our proper cognitive function. The chapter argues that all three arguments either fail or do not allow strong conclusions about the rationality of religious belief.