Book contents
- The Philosophy of Worship
- The Philosophy of Worship
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I Two Introductions
- Part II What Is Worship?
- Part III Normative Aspects
- 7 Monotheism, Worship, and the Good
- 8 Can I Both Blame and Worship God?
- 9 Worship, Excellence, and Intrinsic Value
- 10 What’s Wrong with Idolatry, and Why There Is No Excuse
- 11 Owing God Worship
- 12 Worship for Atheists
- Part IV Forms and Functions of Worship
- Index
- References
12 - Worship for Atheists
from Part III - Normative Aspects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2025
Book contents
- The Philosophy of Worship
- The Philosophy of Worship
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I Two Introductions
- Part II What Is Worship?
- Part III Normative Aspects
- 7 Monotheism, Worship, and the Good
- 8 Can I Both Blame and Worship God?
- 9 Worship, Excellence, and Intrinsic Value
- 10 What’s Wrong with Idolatry, and Why There Is No Excuse
- 11 Owing God Worship
- 12 Worship for Atheists
- Part IV Forms and Functions of Worship
- Index
- References
Summary
Worship is typically understood as an act of religious reverence and devotion to a deity, usually involving some ritual. I aim here to explore whether, and how far, we might make sense of the idea of worship even on robust atheistic assumptions, according to which there is good reason to believe that there is no deity, nor supernatural beings of any kind, so that the only live beings in the world are humans, animals, plants and the like. We shall call this Atheist Worship (AW). Beyond that, I wish to explore the possible value of such practice. If there is no God, then in some sense AW is normatively the only possible form of worship that is not based on error or pretence. But as we shall see, there is no reason why theists cannot also engage in many forms of “AW” (in the sense of engaging in practices expressing attitudes of reverence and devotion towards something held to be of great value and importance, without theistic assumptions), so the value of this project does not depend upon atheism.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Philosophy of WorshipDivine and Human Aspects, pp. 209 - 226Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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