The Dynamics of Doubt

I first attempt to detail the dynamic potentialities of doubt within religious life. In this respect, doubt can play two equally powerful, yet diametrically opposed roles: it has the ability to be a wellspring of creativity or a source of crippling stagnancy. Secondly, I seek to understand the sociological factors present by which doubt emerges within a specific time and space, particularly modern, ‘secular’ society. In so doing, I seek to move the focus away from individual experience of doubt to illumine possible societal contexts which are conducive to engendering doubt. Ultimately, a broad survey of doubt—whether focusing on the lived experience of individuals or larger sociological trends—demonstrates that doubt is by no means a unitary phenomenon