Join us in Auerbach 320 or online this Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., for our next meeting of the University of Hartford Philosophy Club as Brian Skelly presents "Fideism, Idolatry, and Autocracy: The Ascendancy of Blind Faith Politics."
If you have trouble joining, call Brian Skelly at 413.273.2273.
We can see that religion has so often been a troublemaker in political affairs, especially in its all-too-common connection to autocracy and anti-democratic movements. This is an attempt to explain that the troublemaking does not originate in religious faith itself, but in fideist faith, and perhaps in “fideist unfaith” as well.
Fideism is a term with which most of us are unfamiliar, and I suspect that the principal motivation for the unfamiliarity is itself fideist. It can be spoken of as a confessed religious teaching, in which form it has been clearly condemned by some religions, most notably by the First Vatican Council (1869-1870).
My use of the term here is as a manner of worship, whether self-acknowledged or not.
It can be expressed by the dictum: Faith is opposed to reason; so much the worse for reason! In other words, faith is to be upheld against all possible rational scrutiny, i.e., blind faith.
Interestingly, its contrary opposite, sometimes labelled “rationalism”—but only in this restricted context—and which can be expressed by the dictum: Faith is opposed to reason; so much the worse for faith!
This attitude can be seen to conspire with fideism in its common tenet: faith is opposed to reason, in various ways, and so perhaps deserves to be considered as a form of “blind unfaith."
This conspiracy most notably is directed against non-fideism, which can be expressed by the following dictum: Faith is not opposed to reason; so much the better for both!
In other words, faith is to be held in full collaboration with reason. It should be well understood that a non-fideist approach does not force faith assent; that, of course, would be fideist! So, for example, a non-fideist non-theist is someone who simply does not accept that God exists, or that one should have faith, but simply does not assume that all such considerations are absurd.
It is hard to say how many operant fideists there are, but the political results prove there are many. Given the human penchant for contradiction, we may have to speak of fideism at least in some cases as a quality exemplified more or less.
Idolatry is the promoting and maintaining of some value as above or exempt from all possible rational scrutiny, such that no bad news about it can diminish its status, while no value competing with it can ever make gains but can only lose status with respect to it (full document attached).
Brian Skelly has been teaching philosophy locally for more than three decades. Since 2001, he has run the University of Hartford Philosophy Club on a weekly basis throughout the academic year. His publications include Introduction to Philosophy - Themes for Classroom and Reflection, Third Edition, Cognella, 2022, ISBN: 978-1-7935-2686-1 and Religious Liberty According to the Conciliar Declaration “Dignitatis Humanae” in the Teaching of John Paul II Through 1983, by Rev. Andrzej Pogorzelski. Translation from Italian by Brian D. Skelly. Elk-Hartford, 2017. ISBN: 978-83-60737-56-9; and Logic Between the Lines - Making Philosophical Sense of Logic and Logical Sense of Philosophy, Cognella, First Edition, 2025, Cognella, San Diego, (new ISBN forthcoming).
An ongoing weekly tradition at the University since 2001, the University of Hartford Philosophy Club is a place where students, professors, and people from the community at large meet as peers. Sometimes presentations are given, followed by discussion. Other times, topics are hashed out by the whole group.
Presenters may be students, professors, or people from the community. Anyone can offer to present a topic. The mode of presentation may be as formal or informal as the presenter chooses.
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For more information, please contact Brian Skelly at bskelly@hartford.edu or 413.273.2273.