Introduction

Factual beliefs are those regarding the factual situation in which we live and act and that determines our possibilities for action. In other words, what we can or cannot do is determined by the factual situation in which we find ourselves. Normative beliefs are justified by appealing to normative standards in the light of which we evaluate or interpret the facts. In an important sense normative beliefs about the value or meaning of the facts are therefore interpretative beliefs that depend on our interpretative frameworks, normative systems, or views of life. One could argue of course that interpreting religious belief as a normative view of life, determining the way of life to which believers are committed, need not deny the factual claims of religion. The existence of God can only be derived from religious experience and not from mere empirical perception.