Abstract

Four paradigmatic views on the task of the philosophy of religion are presented. The first is elaborated by a close reading of the first article of St. Thomas’ Summa Theol. The second paradigm is discussed by considering the ambitions of deism . The transition to the third paradigm is made by contrasting two works of David Hume. His Dialogues concerning Natural Religion fight the deistic idea of a natural religion on its own terms. His Natural History of Religion steers an altogether different course by seeking to uncover the origins of religion in human nature. The fourth paradigm is illustrated by the neo-wittgensteinian tradition in the philosophy of religion. The rather objective grammatical inquiry of religious concepts that this tradition stands for, turns out – unexpectedly – to reconcile people to religion