John Hick’s Religious Interpretation of Religion: An Unexplored Resource for Religious Educators

Abstract

Writing in 1993, Professor Paul Badham¹ invited his readers to pick up any contemporary work in the philosophy of religion or modern Christian theology and count the number of references to John Hick in the index. Of course, it is well established that Hick has not only produced writings on a wide range of subjects that demand critical attention and acclaim, but that his work also has, according to David Cheetham, ‘always addressed questions that interest people’, which seems ‘to make religious sense; that is, they are issues eminently worth bothering about’.² Badham makes a similar point when he writes:

Many philosophers of religion discuss their subject without themselves understanding the workings of the religious mind or the things that matter to religious faith. This has never been true of John Hick, which is why his work has always been focussed on the central issues confronting faith in the world today.³