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The creative role of doubt in religion

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Abstract

This essay contains four arguments in defense of the creative role of doubt in religion. Within a specified framework or context it is argued that: 1) creative doubt is a means of constructively acknowledging human finitude, 2) creative doubt can play a role in keeping one's fundamental beliefs alive and vital, 3) creative doubt, by continually challenging the full adequacy of religious symbols, serves as a check against the idolatrous worship of one's own religious language, and 4) the avoidance of doubt may reflect a relinquishing of freedom and a dehumanizing quest for certainty.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

    Robert M. Baird Ph.D. (Professor)

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  1. Robert M. Baird Ph.D.
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Baird, R.M. The creative role of doubt in religion. J Relig Health 19, 172–179 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00990134

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00990134

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