Psychological Atheism Arising from the Problem of Divine Hidden

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Religions & Philosophy, Faculty of Literature & Foreign Language, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

10.22059/jpht.2024.372539.1006030

Abstract

One of the theological concerns of believers in all religions is the attention of God to their prayers. In the scriptures, God is introduced as present and influential in the system of existence and loving towards his creatures, but not visually perceptible to humans. This has led some believers to perceive that God either does not exist at all or, for some reason, is hidden from humans, leading to doubts about the existence of God. The divine disappearance has had various cognitive and psychological consequences. In this study, we have attempted to focus on the psychological consequences of this issue and find ways to address the emotional and psychological doubts arising from the belief in the divine disappearance based on discussions in psychology and the psychology of religion. Feelings of God's distance from humans, not feeling loved by God, the possibility that God may have lied about the promises made to humans in the sacred books, and the feeling that God does not care about humans and does not want them to be benevolent, are among the emotional doubts arising from the belief in the existence of God. However, these doubts are often the result of incorrect beliefs that humans depict in their minds about God and his relationship with humans. By having a correct analysis of these misconceptions and replacing them with correct beliefs about God, it is possible to overcome emotional doubts arising from the divine disappearance.

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References

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Philosophy of Religion
Volume 21, Issue 3
October 2024
Pages 217-228

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