On the Concept of Natural Religion

In modern Europe, the concept of "natural religion" played an essential role in reformulating religious certainty in a modern epistemological frame. Harmony between nature and human beings was supposed to guarantee universal access to religious certainty. Once such premises lost their credibility, however, "natural religion" was transformed into a purely secularized or privatized concept, reflecting a series of modern dualisms : natural science/religion, outer phenomena/inner essence, philosophical study/historical study, and so forth. This dualistic tendency is apparent even in today\u27s scientific study of religion, since this study owes much of its theoretical base to the concept of "natural religion.