Religion without God: young Heidegger's contribution to the philosophy of religion

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the considerations about what Heidegger postulates to be the task of philosophy and therefore the philosophy of religion. From 1919 extending throughout the 1920s, the German philosopher had presented, in some studies, philosophy as methodologically atheistic, and at some point, categorically states that a Christian philosophy would be inconceivable, since its study “object” is not the same as Christianity or theology. The philosophy, therefore, has as a telos, in the thought of the young phenomenologist, the original experience of factual life. With this conception, even religion visited by philosophy has as its end this experience and not, for example, the discussion around the issue of a God which could send this religious experience. Thus, the facticity and phenomenology are addressed to understand in what extent it is possible to think philosophically religion.