1
Professor, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Professor, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran. Iran.
3
Philosophy and Islamic theology student at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/qabasat.2025.725049
Abstract
This study explores the diverse perspectives on religious science, highlighting Alvin Plantinga’s Reformed Epistemology as one of the most influential theories in this field. Widely recognized in both Western and Eastern scholarly contexts, Plantinga’s approach—also known as the epistemology of religious belief—offers the potential for a significant global transformation if institutionalized. Using a descriptive-analytical method and documentary analysis, the paper examines the main challenges and functions of this theory. The key obstacles include the conflict between religious and atheistic science, replacing divine creation with naturalism, classical foundationalism, evidentialism, the evolutionary account of life, empiricism, the marginalization of religion, and the dominance of atheistic assumptions in scientific discourse. In contrast, the theory’s functional aspects include a maximalist engagement with religion, recognizing science as a source of religious understanding, expanding properly basic beliefs, dismantling restrictive scientific boundaries, broadening epistemic justification, revitalizing Christianity, and strengthening rational judgment. The study concludes that overcoming these challenges and realizing the theory’s functions can restore religion’s role in public and academic life. It emphasizes Plantinga’s theory as a powerful response to modern epistemological dilemmas and a strategic opportunity for reintegrating religion into knowledge systems.
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Khademi,E. , Salavati,A. and Qanavati,A. (2025). An Examination of the Challenges and Functions of Religious Epistemology from Alvin Plantinga's Perspective. Qabasat, 30(115), 51-75. doi: 10.22034/qabasat.2025.725049
MLA
Khademi,E. , , Salavati,A. , and Qanavati,A. . "An Examination of the Challenges and Functions of Religious Epistemology from Alvin Plantinga's Perspective", Qabasat, 30, 115, 2025, 51-75. doi: 10.22034/qabasat.2025.725049
HARVARD
Khademi E., Salavati A., Qanavati A. (2025). 'An Examination of the Challenges and Functions of Religious Epistemology from Alvin Plantinga's Perspective', Qabasat, 30(115), pp. 51-75. doi: 10.22034/qabasat.2025.725049
CHICAGO
E. Khademi, A. Salavati and A. Qanavati, "An Examination of the Challenges and Functions of Religious Epistemology from Alvin Plantinga's Perspective," Qabasat, 30 115 (2025): 51-75, doi: 10.22034/qabasat.2025.725049
VANCOUVER
Khademi E., Salavati A., Qanavati A. An Examination of the Challenges and Functions of Religious Epistemology from Alvin Plantinga's Perspective. Qabasat, 2025; 30(115): 51-75. doi: 10.22034/qabasat.2025.725049