PRIZES to win! PROMOTIONS

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

Locke’s Religious Epistemology and Its Critics

Nathan Rockwood (Brigham Young University, USA)

$398.95   $319.42

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Routledge
20 October 2025
This book offers a sustained defense of Locke’s religious epistemology. It puts Locke into conversation with leading figures in contemporary religious epistemology and shows that Locke’s views are more plausible than many philosophers of religion and epistemologists realize.

Locke has become the villain in contemporary religious epistemology. In recent years, Locke has often been singled out and criticized for insisting that religious belief requires evidence and for failing to provide adequate evidence that would support rational belief in God and Christianity. This book defends a broadly Lockean religious epistemology. The author argues that we need evidence for religion and that there is good evidence supporting belief in God and Christianity. He discusses Locke’s views on the evidence from natural theology, religious experience, the testimony of miracles, and scripture. In each chapter, the author contrasts Locke’s view on a type of evidence with one of his critics: Michael Bergmann, David Hume, Alvin Plantinga, Richard Swinburne, and Linda Zagzebski. At the end of each chapter, the author shows how a Bayesian analysis of evidence can support Locke’s evidence for religious belief, specifically a belief in Christianity. This defense of Locke’s position shows how his religious epistemology continues to be relevant in contemporary debates.

Locke’s Religious Epistemology and Its Critics is a historically informed contribution to religious epistemology. It will appeal to researchers and graduate students working in epistemology, philosophy of religion, and history of philosophy.
By:  
Imprint:   Routledge
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm, 
Weight:   560g
ISBN:   9781041063674
ISBN 10:   1041063679
Series:   Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Religion
Pages:   202
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Nathan Rockwood, PhD, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University, specializing in Locke’s religious epistemology. His publications include “Locke on Reason, Revelation, and Miracles” (The Lockean Mind), “Locke and Hume on Competing Miracles” (Religious Studies), and “The Authority of Scripture” (History of Philosophy Quarterly).

Reviews for Locke’s Religious Epistemology and Its Critics

""Locke’s Religious Epistemology and Its Critics is an important contribution both to Locke scholarship and to the philosophy of religion. Anyone interested in these subjects will be richly rewarded by engaging with Rockwood’s book."" John Earman, University of Pittsburgh, USA ""For several decades, the philosophical discussion of rational religious belief has been dominated by externalist accounts of religious belief – accounts that effectively change the subject. Nate Rockwood’s new book returns to the evidentialist tradition and addresses the questions we really wanted to ask, questions about evidence and rationality, and it does so with a clear and critical view of the arguments that had persuaded so many to abandon Locke’s appealingly simple approach. The result is a lucid work full of both historical and technical insight. I hope it opens the door for more to follow."" Timothy McGrew, Western Michigan University, USA ""Rockwood examines central issues in the analytic philosophy of religion, with a particular focus on religious epistemology. Drawing on his expertise in epistemology, philosophy of religion, and Locke scholarship, he offers a compelling case for Locke’s evidentialism. Meticulous in its textual analysis, the book will appeal to historians of philosophy, while its engagement with contemporary religious epistemology shows how Locke’s views on evidentialism, natural theology, and Christian faith remain relevant today."" Lex Newman, University of Utah, USA


See Also