Methodological Agnosticism and Charitable Interpretation: How to Bracket Religious Truth Claims in the Study of Religions

The article discusses the apparently conflictual relationship between two heuristic principles both of which are relevant to the study of religions: the principle of methodological agnosticism on the one hand, and the principle of charitable interpretation on the other. Methodological agnosticism recommends the religious studies researcher to bracket the question of the truth (or lack thereof) of religious beliefs, whereas the principle of charity states that to gain an adequate understanding of the contents of religious beliefs the religious studies researcher must start out from the assumption that those contents are true. Prima facie, the two methodological principles pull in opposite directions. The article argues that, despite appearances to the contrary, they can be reconciled.