Summary Of The Love Of God

People tend to shy away from in-depth discussions of religion these days; it brings to mind heated dialogues and unanswered questions. In today’s diverse world, everyone has his or her own stance on what it means to be religious regarding each faith. John Caputo, the David R. Cook Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University, attempts to dispel any ill will towards the subject in his exploration On Religion Thinking in Action. Instead of defining religion so concretely, he explains that the concept is, “too uncontainably diverse for us to fit it all under one roof… too many to count, too many to master, in too many languages to learn” (Caputo 1). Later, he mentions, “the religious sense of life would never mean just one thing for everybody” (9). Instead of becoming bogged down in the differences and similarities of each religion, Caputo focuses on how religion guides people in living their lives. A question that drives Caputo throughout the first chapters is, “what do I love when I love my God?” (2). Religion, to Caputo, is not something tied up in traditions or rituals, sayings or phrases, but is, “the love of God” (1). Caputo realizes not all religious feelings arise from a house of worship by stating, “Religion may be found with or without religion” (3). In his first use of the word religion, he means his definition, “the love of God.” His second use follows Merriam-Webster’s definition of, “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs,