Is it possible to be a religious Objectivist at all?

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March 12, 2024

Question: Is it possible to be a religious Objectivist at all?‍

Answer: The most important thing to say here is that Objectivism metaphysically is a naturalistic philosophy and epistemologically it is a pro-reason philosophy, so any deviation from those two fundamentals would put one in the non-Objectivist category.

Now, one could then say, ‘Well, I’m not going to pay attention to fundamentals, but I’m going to do something like saying, Objectivism means these 100 propositions’, and you list them, ‘and I agree with them on 99 of those issues, but there’s one thing that I’m importing from religion’. In that case you would say you’re something like 99% Objectivist, but you would have to make clear that important difference publicly.

The other thing I think is to say that not all religions are the same. Some religions are more naturalistic, and some are less naturalistic. Some are more rational and some more explicitly irrational. So you would need to define more carefully what you mean by religion as well.

Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.

About the author:

Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.

Stephen R. C. Hicks is a Senior Scholar for The Atlas Society and Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University. He is also the Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship at Rockford University.

He is author of The Art of Reasoning: Readings for Logical Analysis (W. W. Norton & Co., 1998), Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (Scholargy, 2004), Nietzsche and the Nazis (Ockham’s Razor, 2010), Entrepreneurial Living (CEEF, 2016), Liberalism Pro and Con (Connor Court, 2020), Art: Modern, Postmodern, and Beyond (with Michael Newberry, 2021) and Eight Philosophies of Education (2022). He has published in Business Ethics Quarterly, Review of Metaphysics, and The Wall Street Journal. His writings have been translated into 20 languages.

He has been Visiting Professor of Business Ethics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Visiting Fellow at the Social Philosophy & Policy Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, Visiting Professor at the University of Kasimir the Great, Poland, Visiting Fellow at Harris Manchester College of Oxford University, England, and Visiting Professor at Jagiellonian University, Poland.

His B.A. and M.A. degrees are from the University of Guelph, Canada. His Ph.D. in Philosophy is from Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.

In 2010, he won his university’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

His Open College podcast series is published by Possibly Correct Productions, Toronto. His video lectures and interviews are online at CEE Video Channel, and his website is StephenHicks.org.

Instagram Takeover Questions:

Every week we solicit questions from our 100K followers on Instagram (a social media platform popular with young people. Once a month we feature Stephen Hicks' answers to select questions, transcripts below:‍

Also several articles, selected for likely interest to Objectivist audiences:

‍“Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand.” The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 10:2 (2009), 1-43
‍“The Postmodern Critique of Liberal Education.” Reason Papers 41:1 (Winter 2019): 60-89
‍“What Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us All About Life.” The Wall Street Journal. May 2, 2016
‍“Why Art Became Ugly.” Navigator 7:7 (September 2004), 5-11
‍“Does Kant Have a Place in Classical Liberalism?” Cato Unbound, October 17, 2016
‍“Ayn Rand and Contemporary Business Ethics.” Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 3:1 (Winter 2003), 1-26
‍“Objectivity for Actual Human Beings.” Social Science Research Network, 2022
‍“Jordan Peterson’s Religious Facts and Values.” Academia.edu. Sandra Woien, Ph.D., editor, Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses, Chicago: Open Universe, 2021

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