How to Decide

Abstract

This chapter sets out a basic epistemology of religious choice. It presents a set of guidelines for how to think about making a decision about religion in a responsible way. It surveys how faith depends upon knowledge, since no one believes anything on no grounds whatsoever. But it also shows how knowledge depends upon faith: upon trusting a wide range of sources (senses, memories, other people, and more) and the ability to understand and infer reasonable conclusions from all that input. The chapter concludes with commonsense recommendations for dealing with the unavoidable uncertainty that attends all big choices in life.