Religious Act in Max Scheler's Phenomenology of Religion

Max Scheler's philosophy of religion constitutes an essential phenomenology of religion centered on the concept of the "Religious Act," a form of givenness in which the divine or holy is presented. In this act, the person communicates with God in a unique and irreducible experience. The act is self-evident, but its self-evidence derives from phenomenological intuition rather than logic. Scheler describes three intrinsic features of the religious act, which the article reviews: intuitive understanding and the role of emotion, the act's characteristics, and an evaluation of Scheler's formulation. The article argues that the relationship between Scheler's religious act and the Divine is unclear, that speaking of "transcendence" implies an a priori "trans-world," and that Scheler's method conflicts with the task of phenomenology.

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Abstract

Max Scheler’s philosophy of religion is, in fact, the essential phenomenology of religion. The core of his discussion of religion is the concept of "Religious Act," which Scheler introduced as a "givenness" in which the divine/holy is given. He believes that "Person" communicates with God in the religious act, and the experience of this communication is unique and irreducible. This action is self-evident, but its self-evidence differs from self-evidence in logic and derives from the phenomenological intuition. According to Scheler, the religious act is fundamental to human existential dimensions. He describes three intrinsic specific features of religious act, which we review in this article. At first, we look at the intuitive understanding and the role of emotion in it. Then, after explaining the concept of the religious act and its characteristics, we examine and evaluate Scheler’s formulation of these characteristics. We argue that the relationship between Scheler’s conception of the religious act and the Divine (whether understood monotheistically or not) is not clear. Besides, speaking of “transcendence” implies an a priori “trans-world.” Finally, Scheler’s method in recognizing the fundamental dimension of the human being is in contrast with the task of phenomenology.