I think anyone interested in religion (whether following one, debating them, or studying them) will find William James’s lecture The Will To Believe worthwhile.

I think anyone interested in religion (whether following one, debating them, or studying them) will find William James’s lecture The Will To Believe worthwhile. Here’s an excerpt from a synopsis[0], the full text is also freely available[1]. > James argues that we may be justified in adopting a belief even if we don't have enough prior evidence in support of it, and in some cases, 1) we may only have access to supporting evidence only after we have adopted the belief, or 2) our adoption of the belief may make the belief true. For James, religious beliefs are paradigm examples of such beliefs. This essay is responsible for the term “leap of faith,” where one’s ability to follow through with something depends upon their belief that they are able to. This is applicable to part of the scientific process as well: following an insight is what gives rise to hypotheses. [0] https://godandgoodlife.nd.edu/digital-essays/the-will-to-believe/ https://godandgoodlife.nd.edu/digital-essays/the-will-to-bel... [1] https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090714151749/http://falcon.jmu.edu/~omearawm/ph101willtobelieve.html https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090714151749/http://falcon.jmu....