An Examination of Kant's Religious Thought

One of the most important issues throughout the history of human thought is religion, and one of the most influential philosophers in the Western tradition is Imanuel Kant. Kant has been influential in many fields, including religion. His religious views have been interpreted in ways that have sometimes been surrounded with misunderstandings. In this paper I will review Kant's philosophical system, showing that his religious thought has two stages: negative and positive. In the First Critique and Prolegomena, Kant presents his epistemological view and seeks to limit the scope of reason in order to find room for religion—this is the negative stage at which he takes the basic notions of God, soul and will to be unprovable by reason, but in the Second Critique, Kant concerns himself with morality—this is the second stage at which he subjects religion to morality. This approach, in my view, has led him to secularism and the suspension of reason in religious matters. Thus, I seek to undermine the principles on which he criticized religion.