The Idea
This claim asserts that faith is not a fixed given outside time, but something with historicity. This means that the forms, images, and boundaries of faith did not emerge all at once; rather, they passed through developments and transformations. From this, it is understood that what seems today self-evident or final may have gone through different stages of formation before settling into its dogmatic form.
Concise Formulation
Faith is historical
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim lies at the heart of the argument because it shifts the discussion from describing faith to analyzing its formation. The book does not merely treat faith as an abstract fact; it places it within a historical trajectory that alters its meanings and functions. In this way, history becomes a tool for understanding religion, not merely an external backdrop to it.
Why It Matters
The importance of this claim is that it opens the way to understanding religion apart from the view that places it outside history. It also helps read Arkoun as a thinker who rejects freezing religious concepts into a single form. It further shows that his critique does not target faith itself, but rather examines the way it was formulated and transformed over time.
Reading Questions
- What does it mean for faith to have historicity, rather than being a fixed truth?
- How does this view help explain the transition from faith to dogmatic formulations?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.