Religions and Mysticism

Religions and Mysticism

Does Faith Necessarily Entail Belief? A Critical Examination of the Doxastic Approach to Faith

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 PhD, Department of Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Professor, Department of Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Religious faith in the contemporary world is experienced within a context of doubt, epistemic pluralism, and awareness of competing worldviews, giving rise to fundamental questions concerning the relationship between faith and belief. This article critically evaluates the doxastic approach to faith by examining its most significant challenges. Employing an analytical and critical methodology, it assesses the principal arguments advanced in contemporary epistemology of religion. The study first argues that the major versions of the doxastic approach all face the unresolved problem of the rationality of religious belief. It then focuses on the challenge of doubt, contending that religious faith can coexist with serious and persistent doubt, whereas doxastic models encounter substantial difficulties in explaining this phenomenon. The article concludes that although the doxastic approach successfully accounts for certain dimensions of faith, it fails to provide a comprehensive theory of the nature of faith. This limitation highlights the need for greater attention to non-doxastic approaches.
Keywords

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