Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Since at least the Medieval period a distinction has been drawn between reason and faith, where reason was seen as the epistemology for knowing factual, earthly knowledge, and faith was seen as the epistemology for finding spiritual knowledge. The Enlightenment solidified this dichotomy by contrasting faith with the certainty of empiricism. Faith, thus, became seen as being when one believes in something that cannot be known with certainty. This dichotomy relegated fatih to secondary status as a less valid, less true epistemology. This paper traces this understanding of faith from its historical origins to the modern day to show how it has permeated our modern understanding of what it means to have faith. It will then be argued that faith can instead be seen as a form of knowledge and knowledge seeking that is just as valid as rational argument and sensory experience. To make this case, various treatises on faith from the Book of Mormon will be analyzed, under the premise that religious texts can carry philosophical heft. These texts show that an understanding of faith is possible where faith is not merely belief in something that cannot be known for certain, but rather an epistemology based on undeniable phenomenological experience that is uniquely suited to gaining knowledge of people, relationships, and the divine, as opposed to rational and empirical knowledge. The importance of this faith-based epistemology is evident in how it can raise religious knowledge from its secondary status to equal standing with other forms of knowledge.