The End and Ends of Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

With this chapter I begin the critical section of my book, focusing particularly on Nick Trakakis’s The End of Philosophy of Religion. As I mentioned in my preface, I made my first acquaintance of Nick’s book at a time when I was on the lookout for new projects in the philosophy of religion. Its title alone sounded promising, suggesting not only an incisive critique of the current state of the philosophy of religion but also a robust proposal for its future. But these hopes were dashed when I discovered that The End of Philosophy of Religion falls short at both ends. Not only does it mistake what threatens to terminate a certain philosophy of religion, but it also lacks a viable alternative program for a philosophy of religion that is historically grounded and religiously diverse. But I find these shortcomings instructive, enabling a clearer view of that which is wrong with our currently ascendant philosophies of religion as well as a faint glimpse of what could be right about a future philosophy of religion. So I will take them here as a way of previewing my critique of analytic and continental philosophy of religion in Chapters 2 and 3 as well as my construction of an alternative philosophy of religion in Chapters 4, 5, and 6. In other words, this chapter serves as an introduction to the rest of the book.¹