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The cognitive science of religion and theism again: a reply to Leo Näreaho

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2013

DAVID LEECH  and
AKU VISALA
DAVID LEECH
Affiliation:
Department of Religion and Theology, University of Bristol, 11 Woodland Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1TB, UK e-mail: david.leech@bristol.ac.uk
AKU VISALA
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 611 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana, 46556, USA e-mail: avisala@nd.edu
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Abstract

In this article we respond to Leo Näreaho's critique of our position on the relationship of the cognitive science of religion (CSR) and theism, arguing that he misrepresents our position and assimilates our views to ones we do not in fact hold. The central issue we address has to do with how Näreaho construes what he takes to be our commitment to a ‘world-view neutrality’ thesis regarding the ‘assumptions and results’ of the new bio-psychological theories of religion (in the case at hand, CSR). We suggest that Näreaho has misconstrued us on what the neutrality thesis actually is and what follows from it. We conclude that his own proposal for compatibility is not an alternative to ours but rather one permissible metaphysical reading of CSR among others.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 67 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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