Spiritual Yearning and the Axiology of Theism and Other Worldviews: A Theoretical Exploration
Klaas J. Kraay (Toronto Metropolitan University)
Leigh Vicens (Augustana University)
Award: $99,799.78
Start Date: October 1, 2026
End Date: September 20, 2028
Focus: Philosophers of religion often ask whether God exists. This project asks a different question: what difference would God's existence make to the value of human life and the world? This debate is known as the axiology of theism. Pro-theism holds that we would be better off if God exists, while anti-theism holds that we would be worse off in at least some respects. The team will investigate how both positions can express spiritual yearning - for example, yearning for meaning, justice, belonging, freedom, privacy, dignity, or redemption.
Approach: The project connects the axiology of worldviews with moral and intellectual virtue. It asks when pro-theistic or anti-theistic yearning is hopeful, grateful, compassionate, humble, or intellectually responsible, and when it becomes excessive, complacent, servile, arrogant, or otherwise distorted. It also broadens the conversation beyond traditional monotheism by including work on pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, Buddhism, African vitalism, Indigenous spirituality, and other underrepresented perspectives.
Contribution: The project will produce a substantial new body of scholarship on how the worldviews people hope are true shape their aspirations and character. Planned work includes a monograph by Leigh Vicens, articles by the co-principal investigators and the wider team, a conference at Toronto Metropolitan University, and either an edited anthology or a journal special issue. A public website will provide nontechnical summaries, an annotated bibliography, and recordings of conference presentations.
