The possibility of phenomenological philosophy of religion

Philosophy of religion is challenged by a dilemma that defines its own boundaries. Philosophy either constructs religious phenomena through its own concepts and intellectual tools, thereby obtaining objects it can work on; or it preserves the absoluteness, transcendence, and irreducible nature of these phenomena but ends up with no objects to analyze. In the first case, the essence of these phenomena—their transcendent and mysterious nature—is overlooked; while in the second case, these phenomena are placed in a realm beyond the reach of rational explanation, paving the way for a fideistic approach. This dual impasse is reshaped especially with the rise of the analytic approach in contemporary philosophy of religion. Today, a large portion of studies in the field aim to avoid fideism by examining religious beliefs through conceptual and linguistic analysis within the framework of the analytic approach. However, issues that are vital to religion are treated merely as epistemological subjects, neglecting the essential and existential dimensions of religion. At this point, the primary aim of this study is to question whether religious phenomena can be subject to philosophical evaluation while preserving their irreducibility and without falling into a fideistic stance. To this end, the study seeks to explore the possibility and limits of a phenomenological philosophy of religion by adopting the phenomenological method, which allows for an understanding of religious phenomena in their original appearances.