Jonathan Jong, Christopher Kavanagh, Aku Visala Born idolaters: The limits of the philosophical implications of the cognitive science of religion Summary: In recent years, theoretical and empirical work done under the rub- ric of the cognitive science of religion (CSR) have led many to conclude that religion (or, at least, some aspects thereof) is “natural”. By this, it is meant that human beings are predisposed to believe in supernatural agents, and that their beliefs about these agents are constrained in various ways. The details about how and why these predispositions and cognitive constraints developed and evolved are still largely unknown, though there is enough of a theoretical con- sensus in CSR for philosophers to have begun reflecting on the implications of CSR for religious belief. In particular, much philosophical work has been done on the implications of CSR for theism, on both sides of the debate. On one hand, CSR might contribute to defeating particular arguments for theism, or indeed theism altogether; on the other hand, CSR might provide support for specific theological views. In this paper, we argue that the CSR is largely irrelevant for classical theism, and in particular that the “naturalness hypothesis” is much less congenial to theism than some have previously argued. Zusammenfassung: In den letzten Jahren hat die theoretische und empirische Arbeit unter der Rubrik cognitive science of religion (CSR) viele zu dem Schluss geführt, dass Religion (oder zumindest ein Teil ihrer Aspekte) »natürlich« ist. Damit ist gemeint, dass Menschen prädisponiert sind, an Übernatürliches zu glauben und ihr Glaube auf verschiedene Weise determiniert ist. Die Details, wie und warum sich diese Prädispositionen und kognitiven Zwänge entwickelt haben, sind größtenteils immer noch unbekannt, aber dennoch gibt es für Phi- losophen einen ausreichenden theoretischen Konsens in CSR, um mit der Re- flexion der Implikationen von CSR für religiösen Glauben zu beginnen. Im Speziellen wurde philosophisch viel in Bezug auf die Implikationen von CSR NZSTh 2015; 57(2): 244 – 266  Jonathan Jong: Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, UK-Oxford OX2 6PN, E-Mail: jonathan.jong@anthro.ox.ac.uk Christopher Kavanagh: Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, UK-Oxford OX2 6PN, E-Mail: christopher.kavanagh@anthro.ox.ac.uk Aku Visala: University of Helsinki, PL 4 (Vuorikatu 3), Room 118, FIN-HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO, E-Mail: aku.visala@helsinki.fi Brought to you by | Sackler Library Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford Authenticated | jonathan.jong@anthro.ox.ac.uk author's copy Download Date | 6/3/15 12:45 PM