A Semantic Interpretation of Rudolf Otto's Religious Theory
Yoshitsugu Sawai
The Heythrop Journal March 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/heyj.14200 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Interpretation philosophy Citation Phenomenology philosophy Epistemology Library science Linguistics |
| Key points | Argues that Rudolf Otto's work is best understood through three organically interrelated 'faces'—Christian theologian, philosopher of religion, and scholar of comparative religion—with Lutheran faith as the foundation of his understanding of religion and Fries's neo-Kantian philosophy as its philosophical basis. |
Abstract
This article is a semantic attempt to clarify the totality of Rudolf Otto (1869-1937) by describing his religious theory, characterised by such key terms as ‘the holy’ and ‘the numinous’. In his academic life, Otto had three ‘faces’, i. e. , a Christian theologian, a philosopher of religion, and a scholar of comparative religion, all of which were organically interrelated in his Christian theological studies. At first, Otto was a Lutheran theologian. For him, Lutheran faith was the foundation of his understanding of religion. Moreover, Fries's neo-Kantian philosophy provided a sufficient philosophical basis for Otto's Protestant theological studies.