Peirce and Religion

Abstract This chapter examines the content, subsequent reception, and contemporary applications of Peirce’s writings on religion. The chapter comprises three sections. Section 1 surveys the most important primary texts on religion from within Peirce’s corpus: Peirce’s first Monist series (1891–1893), his Cambridge Lectures (1898), and his “Neglected Argument for the Reality of God” (1908). Section 2 charts a genealogy of the reception of Peirce’s writings within theology and religious studies; this genealogy extends from Josiah Royce through John E. Smith and into the respective projects of such figures as Robert C. Neville, Peter Ochs, Robert S. Corrington, and Michael Raposa. Section 3 traverses the current landscape of scholarship on Peirce and religion and speculates on potential developments within the discourse.