Invoking Wittgenstein in Defence of Religious Belief

Journal article

This paper provides an overview of five defences of religious belief against criticisms offered by ‘modern atheists’ such as Richard Dawkins. All five defences maintain that the atheist’s criticisms are off target as a result of the atheist having failed properly to grasp how religious language is used. All five defences are linked with Wittgenstein. My interest here is not in whether any of the defences outlined are Wittgenstein’s (I take no position on that), but rather on whether any plausibly deliver the conclusion that the atheist’s criticisms are off target. The paper concludes that, as they stand, all five defences face significant objections. First, while some would deliver the conclusion that the ‘modern atheist’s’ criticisms are off target, their accounts of how religious language is used appear implausible. Second, the remaining defences, while offering more plausible accounts of how religious language is used, appear not to deliver the conclusion that the ‘modern atheist’s’ criticisms are off target. The paper also notes that those who claim atheist criticisms of religious belief are off target aren’t always clear about which defence (or defences) they are offering, be it one of the five defences outlined here or some other defence. By providing this map or overview, I aim to offer such defenders an opportunity to identify more clearly which defence they have in mind and why they believe it succeeds.

Authors: Law, SW

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: Religions
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 643
• Article number: 643
• Publication date: 2026-05-26
• Acceptance date: 2026-05-22
• DOI: 10.3390/rel17060643
• EISSN: 2077-1444
• ISSN: 2077-1444
• Language: English
• Keywords: language; religion; non-cognitivist; Wittgenstein; philosophy; Dawkins