Contemporary Philosophy of Religion

Contemporary Philosophy of Religion offers a comprehensive survey of the major debates and methodological approaches that characterize late 20th century philosophical discourse about God and religious belief. Charles Taliaferro structures his analysis around the central questions that have dominated Anglo-American philosophy of religion since the 1960s, providing both historical context and critical assessment of competing positions.

The monograph begins by examining the epistemological challenges to religious belief posed by logical positivism and verificationism, tracing how philosophers of religion responded to claims that theological statements lack cognitive meaning. Taliaferro demonstrates how thinkers like Basil Mitchell, Richard Swinburne, and Alvin Plantinga developed sophisticated replies to these challenges, establishing new frameworks for understanding religious language and justification. The work gives particular attention to the revival of natural theology, analyzing contemporary formulations of cosmological, teleological, and ontological arguments while also addressing the problem of evil as the primary challenge to theistic belief.

A significant portion of the text explores the reformed epistemology movement initiated by Plantinga, examining how this approach shifts the burden of proof in debates about God's existence. Taliaferro analyzes the debate between evidentialists and non-evidentialists, clarifying how disagreements about proper basicality and warrant shape contemporary discussions. The monograph also addresses religious diversity and pluralism, considering how the existence of multiple religious traditions affects questions of rationality and truth in religious belief.

Throughout the work, Taliaferro maintains a dialogical approach that presents theistic, atheistic, and agnostic positions with careful attention to their strongest formulations. He examines contributions from key figures including J.L. Mackie, William Rowe, Paul Draper, and Peter van Inwagen on the atheistic side, while also discussing defenders of religious belief such as Marilyn McCord Adams, Robert Adams, and William Alston. The text demonstrates how contemporary philosophy of religion has moved beyond simple proof-or-disproof frameworks toward more nuanced discussions of probability, coherence, and explanatory power.

The monograph's value lies in its systematic presentation of how analytical philosophy of religion emerged from mid-century challenges to become a thriving subdiscipline with sophisticated methodological tools. Taliaferro shows how contemporary debates build upon but also transcend traditional natural theology, incorporating insights from epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of language to address perennial questions about God's existence and nature.