Critical Evaluation of Rorty's View on Religion and Religious Institutions

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Western Philosophy, Faculty of Theology, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran

10.22059/jpht.2026.402659.1006146

Abstract

Richard Rorty situated his philosophical project in critical dialogue with the pragmatism of John Dewey, the hermeneutics of Martin Heidegger, and the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. In doing so, he challenged systematic, universalist, and a priori models of philosophy. Instead, Rorty defended an “edifying philosophy”—a conception of philosophy oriented toward the growth and edification of individuals and communities, remaining receptive to new modes of thought. In the field of religion, Rorty extended this project by critically examining traditional religion and systematic theology and advancing the notion of “edifying theology”—one emphasizing social hope, solidarity, contingency, and ethics, rather than truth, metaphysics, or the authority of religious institutions. This article explicates the key components of edifying theology, which engages with the existential and moral crises of contemporary humanity, and offers a critical assessment of its theoretical and practical implications. It raises fundamental questions that illuminate the strengths, limitations, and unresolved challenges of Rorty’s proposal regarding religion and its social function—questions he largely left unanswered. Among these are: How can a religion stripped of metaphysical foundations and truth-claims continue to provide meaning, coherence, and social solidarity? Can a religion that renounces ontological commitments and truth-claims still sustain its meaning-giving function? And finally, does removing religious institutions from the public sphere, without alternative mechanisms for social organization, risk social fragmentation or collapse?

Keywords

References

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Philosophy of Religion
Volume 23, Issue 2
July 2026
Pages 87-98

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