Is It Natural to Believe In God?

Abstract

BELIEVING THAT TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN THEISM IMPLIES THERE IS SOMETHING EPISTEMICALLY WRONG WITH RELIGIOUS UNBELIEF, I EXAMINE JOHN CALVIN'S CLAIM THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BELIEVE IN GOD IF IT WEREN'T FOR SIN. I SHOW WHY THIS CLAIM OUGHT TO BE MORE COMMON THAN IT IS; DEVELOP IT IN TERMS OF OUR NATURALLY HAVING CERTAIN RELIABLE "EPISTEMIC SETS"; UTILIZE THAT DEVELOPMENT TO SPECIFY EXACTLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH UNBELIEF; AND THEN ARGUE THAT EVEN UNBELIEVERS HAVE SOME REASON TO THINK IT IS TRUE.