Existentialism and Religion

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.

---

Kierkegaard: The Father of Existentialism

Existence Precedes Essence (Avant la Lettre)

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?