Loyal D. Rue (born June 7, 1944) is an American philosopher of religion. He is professor emeritus of religion and philosophy at Luther College of

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. He focuses on naturalistic theories of religion and has been awarded two

John Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a philanthropic organization that reflects the ideas of its founder, John Templeton, who became wealthy via a career as a contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in religious a ...

fellowships. He has been for many years a member and lecturer at the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS).

Views

Rue in his writings and teaching has been a proponent of

religious naturalism Religious naturalism combines a naturalist worldview with ideals, perceptions, traditions, and values that have been traditionally associated with many religions or religious institutions. "Religious naturalism is a perspective that finds religi ...

and environmentalism: In ''Religion Is Not About God'', Rue proposed that at the heart of almost all religions and cultures is a story – a myth. This is due to humans being emotional, narrative beings. Religions use what Rue called "ancillary strategies" to promote and make flourish their doctrines. He named five strategies: intellectual, experiential, ritual, aesthetic, and institutional (pages 128–142). To these may be added participants, practices, teachings, and social behavior. In the Epilogue of ''Everybody's Story'', Rue wrote:

Reception

Edward O. Wilson said of Rue's ''Religion Is Not About God'': "This book is an important step towards the naturalistic, hence truly general theory of religion. It harmonizes contemporary scientific understanding of the origin of human nature with a positive view of the centrality of religious culture." The individual perspectives on religious naturalism of Donald A. Crosby, Jerome A. Stone,

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and Rue are discussed by Michael Hogue in his 2010 book ''The Promise of Religious Naturalism''.The Promise of Religious Naturalism, Michael Hogue, Rowman & Littlefield, 2010,

Major publications

*'' Nature is Enough: Religious Naturalism and the Meaning of Life'', State University of New York Press, 2012, *''Religion Is Not About God: How Spiritual Traditions Nurture Our Biological Nature And What to Expect When They Fail'', Rutgers University Press, 2006, *''Everybody's Story: Wising Up to the Epic of Evolution'', State University of New York Press, 1999, *''By the Grace of Guile: The Role of Deception in Natural History and Human Affairs'', Oxford University Press, 1994, (A ''New York Times'' Notable Book) *''Amythia: Crisis in the Natural History of Western Culture'', University Alabama Press, 1989, Rue also served as co-editor of the volume ''Contemporary Classics in Philosophy of Religion'', Open Court Pub. Co., 1991,

Views

Reception

Major publications

References

Further reading