The Philosophy of Worship
Divine and Human Aspects

The first collection of essays in the analytic tradition of philosophy to focus on the nature and value of worship.

Aaron Segal (Edited by), Samuel Lebens (Edited by)

9781009460941, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 January 2025

345 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.6 cm, 0.67 kg

'This impressive volume, developed from the analytic school of philosophy, brings together several specialists to shed light on this necessary yet elusive concept.' Macario Ofilada Mina, Religión digital

Worship is central to the lives of billions of people worldwide. Yet, despite the recent flourishing of analytical philosophy of religion, there has been very little attention paid to the philosophical questions raised by worship. This book is the first volume to explore the philosophy of worship. Written in a clear style that eschews unnecessary technical jargon, it considers the metaphysical, ethical, and psychological issues associated with worship, among them: What, if anything, is the point of worship? What, if anything, makes a being worthy of worship? Can worship hold value for atheists? What, if anything, might be wrong with idolatry? These questions, and more, sit at the heart of this book. With contributions from world renowned philosophers and important early career voices, this volume sets the agenda for future work in the philosophy of worship.

Part I. Two Introduction: 1. Worship: a lay of the land Samuel Lebens and Aaron Segal
2. The Metaethics of Worship Elliot Salinger
Part II. What is Worship?: 3. Worship Eleonore Stump
4. Second-personal Worship Maria Beer
5. Worship and Veneration Brandon Warmke and Craig Warmke
6. Worship as real Union Omar Fakhri
Part III. Normative Aspects: 7. Monotheism, Worship, and the Good Robert Adams
8. Can I both blame and Worship God? Robert Wallace
9. Worship, excellence, and intrinsic value Scott Davison
10. What's wrong with Idolatry, and why there is no excuse Brian Leftow
11. Owing God Worship Mark Murphy
12. Worship for Atheists Saul Smilansky
Part IV. Forms and Functions of Worship: 13. Liturgical Philosophy of Religion Andrew Chignell
14. Maimonides on Worship Josef Stern
15. The individual's relationship with God Sharon Krishek
16. The Metaphysics of divine presence and the appropriateness of Worship Dean Zimmerman.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of religion [HRAB]