Reformed epistemology

In the philosophy of religion, reformed epistemology is a school in philosophical thought concerning the nature of knowledge (epistemology) as it applies to religious beliefs. The central proposition of reformed epistemology is that beliefs can be justified by more than evidence alone, contrary to the positions of evidentialism, which argues that while belief other than through evidence may be beneficial, it violates some epistemic duty. Central to reformed epistemology is the proposition that belief in God may be "properly basic" and not need to be inferred from other truths to be rationally warranted.William Lane Craig describes reformed epistemology as "One of the most significant developments in contemporary Religious Epistemology...which directly assaults the evidentialist construal of rationality."

Alvin Plantinga distinguishes between what he calls de facto from de jure objections to Christian belief. A de facto objection is one that attempts to show that Christian truth claims are false. In contrast, de jure objections attempt to undermine Christian belief even if it is, in fact, true. Plantinga argues that there are no successful objections to Christian belief apart from de facto (fact-based) objections.

"Reformed epistemology", was so named because it represents a continuation of the 16th century Reformed theology of John Calvin, who postulated a sensus divinitatis, an innate divine awareness of God's presence. More recent influences on reformed epistemology are found in philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff's Reason within the bounds, published in 1976, and modal logician Alvin Plantinga's Reason and belief in God, published in 1983.

Although Plantinga's reformed epistemology developed over three decades it was not fully described until 1993 with the publishing of two in a series of three works: Warrant: The Current Debate, and Warrant and Proper Function, in 1993. The third in the series was Warranted Christian Belief, published in 2003. Reformed epistemology is a position argued by William Lane Craig, William Alston, and Michael C. Rea.

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