Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

Kant and Theism

Document Type : Review Article

Author
Associate professor, Faculty of Theology, Farabi Faculty of Tehran University, Qom, Iran.
Abstract
Abstract: Immanuel Kant is the most Influential philosopher of the Enlightenment ,whose works are clearly visible in all areas of thought, from science and philosophy to religion and ethics, in all subsequent eras. Among his tremendous influence on theology and theism is such that it can be claimed that modern Christian theology is completely Kantian. There have been two different opinion about this influence among Kant interpreters and commentators. The first opinion claims that Kant, although criticizing theoretical reason, rejects traditional arguments for proving the existence of God in his critique of theoretical reason, he proves God and other metaphysical ideas in his critique of practical reason. The second opinion claims that by rejecting the arguments for proving existence of God in the realm of theoretical reason, Kant not only does not prove metaphysical ideas in practical reason but also weakens and shakes their foundations. In this article while explaining and examining these two opinions, we adopt the second and argue for it.
Keywords

Bibliography
Anderson, Pamela Sue, and Jodan Bell. Kant and Theology. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2016.
Bryan, Magee. Greet Philosophers. Translated by Azatallah Foladvand. Tehran: Kharazmi, 1993. [In Persian]
Copleston, Frederick. The History of philosophy vol. 6. Translated by Esmaeil Saadat, Tehran: Soroosh, 1993. [In Persian]
Dicker, George. Kant’s Theory of Knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University, 2004.
Falkenstein, Lore. “Kant’s Transcendental Aesthetic.” in A companion to Kant, edited by Graham Bird. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.
Firestone, Chris L. Kant and Theology at the Boundary of Reason. Deerfield: Trinity international university, 2009.
Guyer, Paul. Kant. London: Routledge, 2006.
Heine, Heinrich. Religion and Philosophy in Germany. Boston: Beacon Press, 1959.
Jones, Gareth. The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.
Kant, Immanuel. Critique of practical Reason. Translated by Enshaallah Rahmati, Tehran: Noor al-Saqalin, 2006. [In Persian]
Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork Metaphysic of Morals. Copyright Jonathan Bennett, 2017. www.Earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdf/kant1785.
Kant, Immanuel. Lectures on Philosophical Theology. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1978.
Kenny, Anthony. A new History of Western Philosophy. Vol. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press Oxford, 2006.
Ward Keith. Rational Theology and the Creativity of God. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Oxford, 1981.
White, Beck. The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant. New York: Garland publishing Inc, 1976.
Wood, Allen W. Kant Rational Theology. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1978.
Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 July 2026