ABSTRACT

Philosophy of religion was once a backwater of analytic philosophy but in recent decades it has undergone a revival of interest and has gained institutional strength, particularly in North America. One reason for this is recognition of the intrinsic philosophical interest of the questions it discusses; another is a greater willingness to acknowledge the importance of the topics it covers, not only for philosophy but for the general public.1 Though the public value of philosophy of religion may at times be done a disservice by the superficial treatments its themes receive in more popular contributions to debates about the place of religion in contemporary society, undergraduate courses in philosophy of religion in universities are popular and often serve as ways into philosophy for those whose principal course of study is, for example, theology or the study of religion.