ABSTRACT
Testing the rationality of beliefs involves breaking arguments down into propositions, clarifying the use of terms within each proposition, and examining the logical steps from one proposition to another. Belief claims are analysed quite separately from the context and shapes of our lives, and the patterns, disciplines, rituals and experiences of faith. Philosophers of religion disagree over whether this separation is a help or a hindrance to effective execution of their work. Linda Zagzebski, a pioneer in the burgeoning field of virtue epistemology, holds that contemporary philosophy neglects the kind of integrating work that fosters understanding and wisdom. The chapter aims to suggest that the narrow focus and rigour promoted by analytical philosophy reduces the ambition of philosophers of religion. Modern western thought and culture is thought to be very confident about autonomous rationality, which lends an irony to the seeming lack of ambition in analytical philosophy.
