ONLINE FIRST
published on June 1, 2021
Dale M. Schlitt
https://doi.org/10.5840/owl202152834
Hegel on Determinate Religion
Claims, Challenges, Conclusions
With his important, history-contextualizing study, Jon Stewart has drawn renewed attention to Hegel¡¯s often neglected philosophical interpretation of determinate religion. He focuses on Hegel¡¯s philosophical reading of distinct historical religions, in which Hegel brings them together in serial fashion. In so doing, Hegel proposes a unique philosophy of determinate religion which constitutes an essential element in his philosophical argument in favor of the consummate religion, historically instantiated in Christianity. Stewart¡¯s study is, in effect, an invitation to look again at Hegel¡¯s monumental effort to comprehend religion in its varied historical realizations. The present article proposes to respond to this invitation in a preliminary and modest way. We note various claims Hegel makes regarding his philosophy of determinate religion and then identify a number of challenges arising from these claims. Against this background of claims and challenges, we conclude with an appreciation of Stewart¡¯s work. The appreciation proceeds in four steps: first, a recall of what Stewart intends to do, the focus he adopts, and the theses he argues; second, a review of his emphasis on Hegel¡¯s contexts and sources; third, several remarks on his reading of Hegel on determinate religion; fourth, a reflection on important contributions Stewart makes to the present and future study of Hegel on determinate religion.