Hume's Philosophy of Religion

Jul 6, 2026

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J.C.A. Gaskin’s edition of Hume’s philosophy of religion presents a structured exploration of how religious belief arises and what rational support it can claim. The work addresses natural religion and natural belief through arguments on order and design, the problem of evil, necessity, and skepticism. It then examines revealed, historical, and personal religion, focusing on miracles and revelation, the revelation of immortality, and the causes and corruptions of religion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages259

Reading Time10 h 53 min

Preface

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Hume on Religion

Publications and Controversy

The Object of the Revised Exercise

Part One: Natural Religion and Natural Belief

Order and Design

Evil, Freedom and the Religious Hypothesis

Being and Necessity

Meaning, School Metaphysics and Divinity

Scepticism and Natural Belief

God and Natural Order

Part Two: Revealed, Historical and Personal Religion

Miracles and Revelation

The Revelation of Immortality

The Causes and Corruptions of Religion

HUME’S # LIBRARY OF PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION General Editor:John Hick,Danforth ProfessorClaremont Graduate School,Claremont,California 91711 This series of books explores contemporary religiousunderstandings of humanity and the universe.The bookscontribute to various aspects of the continuing dialogues betweenreligion and philosophy,between scepticism and faith,andbetween the different religions and ideologies.The authorsrepresent a correspondingly wide range of viewpoints.Some of thebooks in the series are written for the general educated publicand others for a more specialised philosophical or theologicalreadership. ZEN AND WESTERN THOUGHT Masao Abe THE RELEVANCE OF NATURALSCIENCE TO THEOLOGYWilliam H.Austin CHRISTIAN BELIEFS ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH Paul BadhamIMMORTALITY OR EXTINCTION?Paul and Linda BadhamINCARNATION IN HINDUISM AND CHRISTIANITYDaniel E.Bassuk THE FRAGILE UNIVERSE Patrick Burke GANDHI'S RELIGIOUS THOUGHT Margaret ChatterjeeTHE KALÁM COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FROM PLATO TOLEIBNIZ William Lane Craig LOGIC AND THE NATURE OF GOD Stephen T.DavisTHE PROBLEM OF THE SELF IN BUDDHISM ANDCHRISTIANITY Lynn A.de Silva AN INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGYPadmasiri de Silva THE AVAILABILITY OF RELIGIOUS IDEASPamchandra Gandhi HUME'S PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION J.C.A.Gaskin THE CONCEPTOF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD Brian HaymesTHREE FAITHS-ONE GOD John Hick &Edmund S.Meltzer(editors) GOD BEYOND KNOWLEDGE H.A.HodgesTHE COGNITIVITY OF RELIGION J.Kellenberger THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ALL-KNOWING GODTHE POSSIBILITY OF AN ALL-KNOWING GODJonathan L.Kvanvig PERSONS AND LIFE AFTER DEATH Hywell D.LewisTHE FACE OF TRUTH Julius J.Lipner VEDANTIC APPROACHES TO GOD Eric Lott REINCARNATION AS A CHRISTIAN HOPE Geddes MacGregorAN INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OFBERNARD LONERCAN Hugo A.Meynell THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MORALITY F.C.T.MooreTHE USE AND ABUSE OF THE BIBLE Dennis NinehamRELIGION AND ULTIMATE WELL-BEING Martin ProzeskyBELIEF,CHANGE AND FORMS OF LIFE D.Z.PhillipsHEGEL'S PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGIONKANT AS PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGIANBernard M.G.Reardon REASON,RELATIVISM AND GOD Joseph RunzoEXPERIENCE,INFERENCE AND GOD John J.ShepherdRELIGION,TRUTH AND LANGUAGE GAMESSPIRIT,SAINTS AND IMMORTALITY Patrick SherryCONCEPT AND EMPATHY RELIGION AND THE WESTERN MIND Ninian SmartTOWARDS A WORLD THEOLOGY Wilfred Cantwell SmithRELIGION AND RATIONAL CHOICE Shivesh Chandra ThakurFREEDOM,RESPONSIBILITY AND GOD Robert Young # Further titles in preparation Series Standing Order If you would like to receive future titles in this series as theyare published,you can make use of our standing orderfacility.To place a standing order please contact yourbookseller or,in case of difficulty,write to us at the addressbelow with your name and address and the name of theseries.Please state with which title you wish to begin yourstanding order.(If you live outside the UK we may not havethe rights for your area,in which case we will forward yourorder to the publisher concerned.) Standing Order Service,Macmillan Distribution Ltd,Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,RG212XS,England # Hume's Philosophyof Religion J.C.A.GaskinFellow of Trinity CollegeDublin Second Edition ◎J.C.A.Gaskin 1978,1988 All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmissionof this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copied or transmitted savewith written permission or in accordance withthe provisions of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988,or under the terms of anylicence permitting limited copyingissued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,90 Tottenham CourtRoad,London WiP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation tothis publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civilclaims for damages. First published 1978 byTHE MACMILLAN PRESS LTDHoundmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG212XSand London Companies and representativesthroughout the wo

FAQs

What topics are covered in the section on natural religion and natural belief?

It covers order and design, the problem of evil (including inference, consistency, and free will issues), necessity and sufficient reasons, meaning and school metaphysics, skepticism and natural belief, and belief in God as a natural belief.

How does the book approach revealed, historical, and personal religion?

It examines miracles and revelation, the revelation of immortality, and the causes and corruptions of religion, including discussion of reliability, witnesses, and relevant historical controversy.

What does Hume’s revised introduction focus on?

The introduction frames Hume on religion through the context of publications and controversy and the stated aim of the revised exercise.

Jul 6, 2026

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