Religion Within Total Immanence: Can Religious Naturalists Have Their Cake and Eat it Too?

Abstract In recent years, religious naturalism has emerged as a philosophical-spiritual movement that seeks to synthesize the seemingly incompatible poles of naturalism and religion. Rejecting any appeal to supernatural entities, religious naturalism nevertheless affirms the human need for meaning and spiritual fulfillment within a thoroughly naturalistic framework. This paper explores whether religious naturalists can indeed “have their cake and eat it too”, in other words, whether they can maintain its naturalistic principles while providing a meaningful form of religiosity. Drawing on the work of key figures such as Jerome A. Stone, Ursula Goodenough, and Donald Crosby, the paper examines how religious naturalism redefines religious concepts such as the sacred in naturalistic terms. Ultimately, this inquiry considers whether religious naturalism is a coherent and viable option in the contemporary landscape of the philosophy of religion.