ABSTRACT
Pragmatism and religion may sound to be polar opposites: the one other-worldly and spiritual, the other, mundane and crassly practical. However, notwithstanding its orientation to matters of the spirit, religion too has its pragmatic aspect, and to think otherwise would be to take far too narrow and blinded a view of pragmatism. And what a pragmatic approach to the matter thus calls for is a just appraisal of the potential of religion to consolidate and enhance such an appreciation of spiritual values. The most notable and influential recourse to a pragmatic approach to religion is afforded by the famous—even notorious—discussion known as Pascal's Wager. The doctrinalism of that middle approach does not seem to have interested any of the mainstream pragmatists. Pascal's perspective that the case for committing to a religion can be developed on pragmatic grounds of personal and communal benefit in a way that has much to be said for it.
