The Religions Book

244 THE CHALLENGE OF MODERNITY

Friedrich Schleiermacher identified true
religion with a specific type of feeling. It was
distinct from knowledge or activity and was
an end in itself. Knowledge,
action, and feeling
were different but
related realms.

He emphasized that science and
faith were not in competition: they
should be seen as complementary
because they both focused on
different aspects of human life.

Redefining religion
Schleiermacher’s most significant
idea was his redefinition of the
nature of religion. In his first
important book on the subject,
Religion: Speeches to its Cultured
Despisers (1799), he discussed three
realms of human life: knowledge,
action, and feeling. Although he
recognized that these three realms
are necessarily related to each
other, he was convinced that they
ought not to be confused: according
to him, knowledge belongs to
science, action belongs to ethics,

and feeling belongs to religion.

Schleiermacher believed that the

problem facing Christianity was

that it had often focused too heavily

on knowledge and action, and

too little on feeling. In doing this,

Christianity had opened itself up

to attack by the rationalism of the

modern world. On the one hand,

scientific reason disputed some

of Christianity’s fundamental

beliefs, such as the miracles

and resurrection of Jesus. On the

other hand, the philosophy of Kant

and others saw morality as based

on universal principles, rather

than on the contents of the Bible.

The challenge to Christianity posed

by science and philosophy did not,

however, disturb Schleiermacher;

on the contrary, it presented an

opportunity to recover what he

considered to be at the very heart

of the Christian religion, which

was simply, “a sense and taste

for the infinite.” In his book

The Christian Faith (1821–22),

Schleiermacher systematically

reinterpreted Christian theology

as a description of Christian

experience. For example, according

to him, a statement such as “God

exists” does not make any claim

about the actual existence of God;

instead, it describes a person’s

feeling that he or she is dependent

upon something that is beyond

him or herself.

A record of experience

In the mid-19th century, a number

of scholars, primarily based in

Germany, were using a form of

analysis known as historical

criticism to look at biblical texts.

They studied the Bible’s original

sources from the Middle East to

reinterpret its content within a

historical context. By focusing

on the ways in which the Bible

had been composed and compiled

as a set of human documents,

this analysis appeared to strip

the sacred text of its supernatural

The self-identical essence

of piety is this: the

consciousness of being

absolutely dependent, or,

which is the same thing, of

being in relation with God.

Friedrich Schleiermacher

Action

Feeling

Knowledge