Epistemic, Moral, and Religious Progress in Theology

This chapter first explores what kinds of objections related to the alleged lack of progress have been levelled against theology. It then goes on to argue that, contrary to what some might expect, there is plenty of progress along rather different dimensions in theology: epistemic, moral, and religious. These are different dimensions of progress with their own goals. But even in each of these different dimensions we encounter various ways in which such progress can be made. Moreover, the chapter argues that we can actually show that there is such progress. Objections on the basis of the alleged lack of progress miss out on the manifold dimensions of progress and the distinct nature of theology in comparison with the natural sciences. Finally, a suggestion is made about how even further progress can be made, namely when it comes to the integration of these three different dimensions of progress.