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Existentialism — the philosophical movement concerned with individual existence, freedom, anxiety, and authenticity — has had a profound and complex relationship with religion. Some existentialists, like Kierkegaard, were passionate believers; others, like Sartre, were equally passionate atheists. This lesson examines the major existentialist thinkers and their contributions to the philosophy of religion, including Kierkegaard's leap of faith, Sartre's atheistic existentialism, Heidegger's ontology, Tillich's ground of being, Buber's I-Thou philosophy, and Bultmann's demythologising programme.
Soren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) is widely regarded as the father of existentialism, though the term was coined after his death. Kierkegaard rejected the abstract, systematic philosophy of Hegel, insisting that philosophy must begin with the concrete, lived experience of the existing individual. "The thing is to find a truth which is true for me," he wrote in his journal (1835), "to find the idea for which I can live and die."
For Kierkegaard, the most important questions are not abstract metaphysical puzzles but urgent, personal, existential concerns: How should I live? What should I commit myself to? What does it mean to exist authentically before God?
Kierkegaard analysed the experience of anxiety (Angest) — the dizziness of freedom that arises when the individual confronts the infinite possibilities of existence. Anxiety is not fear of a specific object but a generalised unease about the nature of human freedom and the uncertainty of existence.
The response to anxiety is the leap of faith — a radical, passionate commitment to God that goes beyond what reason can justify. Faith is not intellectual assent to a set of propositions but an existential act — a total engagement of the self that transforms one's entire way of being. The leap of faith is necessary precisely because God's existence cannot be proved — if it could, faith would be unnecessary.
Key Definition: Existentialism — A philosophical movement concerned with individual existence, freedom, choice, anxiety, and authenticity. Existentialism emphasises the concrete, lived experience of the individual over abstract, systematic theorising.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) developed the most influential version of atheistic existentialism. In his lecture Existentialism Is a Humanism (1946), Sartre declared that "existence precedes essence" — human beings have no predetermined nature, purpose, or essence. We are "condemned to be free" — thrown into existence without a script, blueprint, or divine plan. We must create our own meaning, values, and identity through our choices and actions.
For Sartre, the non-existence of God is the starting point of authentic human existence. If God existed, human beings would have a predetermined essence — a purpose assigned by their creator. But God does not exist, so there is no human nature, no cosmic plan, no objective moral law. "If God does not exist, everything is permitted" (a line Sartre attributes to Dostoevsky). Humans must take full responsibility for creating their own values.
| Concept | Sartre's Position |
|---|---|
| Existence precedes essence | Humans have no fixed nature — we create ourselves through our choices |
| Radical freedom | We are "condemned to be free" — every moment involves choice, and we cannot escape responsibility |
| Bad faith (mauvaise foi) | The self-deception of pretending we are not free — blaming God, nature, or society for our choices |
| Anguish | The dread of realising that we are fully responsible for our choices and their consequences |
| Abandonment | The recognition that there is no God, no cosmic purpose, no objective moral guide |
Sartre regarded religious belief as a form of bad faith (mauvaise foi) — an attempt to escape the burden of freedom by pretending that a divine being has assigned us a purpose and a moral code. The believer avoids the anguish of radical freedom by surrendering responsibility to God. For Sartre, authentic existence requires facing the absence of God honestly and taking full responsibility for one's own life.
Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) is one of the most important — and most difficult — philosophers of the twentieth century. In Being and Time (1927), Heidegger argued that Western philosophy had forgotten the fundamental question of Being (Sein) — the question of what it means for anything to exist at all. Heidegger's philosophy is an attempt to recover this question.
Heidegger introduced the concept of Dasein ("being-there") — his term for human existence. Dasein is unique because it is the only being that questions its own existence, that is aware of its own mortality, and that can live either authentically or inauthentically.
Authentic existence involves confronting one's own mortality (Being-towards-death), accepting the anxiety that arises from this confrontation, and living with genuine self-awareness. Inauthentic existence involves fleeing from anxiety into the anonymous comforts of "the They" (das Man) — conforming to social conventions, avoiding difficult questions, living on the surface.
Heidegger's relationship with theology is complex and contested. He was raised Catholic, studied for the priesthood, and was deeply influenced by medieval theology (particularly Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and Meister Eckhart). However, Heidegger came to see traditional theological language about God as part of the "onto-theological" tradition that had obscured the question of Being. The "God of the philosophers" — the Supreme Being, the First Cause — is, for Heidegger, an idol that prevents genuine openness to the mystery of Being.
Heidegger's thought has been enormously influential in theology, particularly through his impact on Rudolf Bultmann and Paul Tillich.
Paul Tillich (1886–1965), the German-American theologian, developed one of the most influential existentialist theologies of the twentieth century. Tillich argued that the traditional concept of God as a Supreme Being — a being alongside other beings, the highest entity in the hierarchy of existence — is inadequate and idolatrous.
God is not a being but Being-itself — the ground of being (der Grund des Seins), the power and depth of reality that underlies and sustains all that exists. God does not exist in the ordinary sense — to say "God exists" is to reduce God to the level of finite beings. Rather, God is the condition of the possibility of all existence.
Key Definition: Ground of Being — Tillich's concept that God is not a being among beings but Being-itself — the ultimate depth and power of reality that underlies all existence. "God does not exist. He is being-itself beyond essence and existence."
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