Nariswari, Ailsa Fionna (2025) RELIGION AS A NATURAL PHENOMENON FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF DANIEL CLEMENT DENNETT (CRITICAL STUDY). S1 Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Darussalam Gontor.

	FILE TEXT (COVER) 1. COVER.pdf - Submitted Version License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (781kB)
	FILE TEXT (ABSTRAK) 2. ABSTRAK.pdf - Submitted Version License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (2MB)
	FILE TEXT (LAMPIRAN) 3. LAMPIRAN.pdf License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (3MB)
	FILE TEXT (DAFTAR ISI) 4. DAFTAR ISI.pdf - Submitted Version License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (933kB)
	FILE TEXT (BAB 1) 5. BAB I.pdf - Submitted Version Exclusive to Registered users only License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (11MB)
	FILE TEXT (BAB 2) 6. BAB II.pdf - Submitted Version Exclusive to Registered users only License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (20MB)
	FILE TEXT (BAB 3) 7. BAB III.pdf - Submitted Version Exclusive to Registered users only License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (19MB)
	FILE TEXT (BAB 4) 8. BAB IV.pdf - Submitted Version Exclusive to Registered users only License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (3MB)
	FILE TEXT (DAFTAR PUSTAKA) 9. DAFTAR PUSTAKA.pdf - Submitted Version Exclusive to Registered users only License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (5MB)

Abstract

This study is based on Daniel Clement Dennett's thought on religion as a natural phenomenon that evolved through human cultural and biological processes. In his book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Dennett argues that religion is not the result of divine revelation but rather a product of social adaptation that provides evolutionary benefits for humans. This perspective has sparked debates in religious studies, particularly from the standpoint of Islamic philosophy, which views religion as divine revelation with a transcendental dimension. Therefore, this study aims to analyze Dennett’s thoughts and provide a critique from the perspective of Islamic philosophy. The main objective of this study is to critically examine Dennett’s concept of religion and evaluate the validity of his naturalistic approach to understanding religion. Furthermore, this research seeks to highlight the gap between the evolutionary approach to religion and the concept of religion in Islamic philosophy, particularly in the thought of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas. Thus, this study is expected to contribute to the philosophy of religion and enrich the academic discourse on the relationship between science, philosophy, and religion. This research employs a library research method with a philosophical and critical analysis approach. The primary sources include the works of Daniel Dennett as well as the thoughts of Muslim philosophers such as Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Said Nursi. The analysis techniques used are deductive methods and critical analysis to compare and evaluate the concept of religion in these two different traditions of thought. The findings of this study indicate that Dennett’s approach to religion is reductionist, as it perceives religion solely as a biological and social phenomenon without considering its transcendental and spiritual dimensions. His ideas also contribute to the secularization discourse, which tends to eliminate the metaphysical aspects of religion. In contrast, Islamic philosophy emphasizes that religion is not merely an evolutionary phenomenon but also a divine revelation that provides moral and intellectual guidance for humanity. Thus, the critique from Islamic philosophy highlights the need for a more holistic approach to understanding the role of religion in human life. This study has several limitations, primarily due to its conceptual and philosophical approach without empirical studies or concrete cases to support its analysis. Therefore, future research is recommended to explore the practical implications of this debate and to develop a multidisciplinary approach that integrates philosophy, sociology, and religious studies more comprehensively.

Loading...

View more statistics

View Item