The challenges of practising intellectual humility with deeply held religious beliefs

Abstract

The challenges of practising intellectual humility with deeply held religious beliefs Peter C. Hill explores the challenges associated with practising IH with deeply held religious beliefs in his fourth of a five-article series on the topic of intellectual humility (IH). Looking at the contentious nature of much religious dialogue and strongly held religious beliefs – where roughly two-thirds of the world’s population consider religion to be important for daily living – it is no surprise that the domain of religion is fertile ground to study the social effects of intellectual humility. Religion, because its concerns are heavily weighted with strong existential issues, is, for many, a certainty-driven motivation. Thus, one may fear discovering that they could be wrong, which, in turn, can undermine one’s religious meaning system’s sense of coherence and certainty reinforced by strongly held religious beliefs. Analysing the intellect in intellectual humility, types of psychological processes and reasoning, and what research says about religious beliefs and teachings, Hill explains how religion will likely serve as a non-negotiable moral conviction and, as such, changing one’s religious beliefs should not be considered a necessary criterion for IH.