What Is Natural: Religion, Nonreligion, or Theology? Panel Contribution on the 2024 Boyle Lecture

This brief panel contribution responds to David Fergusson’s 2024 Boyle Lecture that explored the central questions and controversies raised by a consideration of the claim that religion is natural. I pick up and further develop consideration of two aspects of this much larger discussion to offer some pointers for additional reflection on this fascinating cluster of debates. First, I consider the impact on Fergusson’s argument of increased attention to the category of “nonreligion,” raising the question of whether it might be nonreligion, as opposed to both belief and unbelief, that might be considered natural. Second, I turn from religion to theology, suggesting the importance of considering the naturalness of theology via Paul Tilllich’s neglected notion of Grundoffenbarung.