The Metaphysics of the Masses: A Research on the Role of Religion in Schopenhauer's Philosophy

Arthur Schopenhauer is usually considered as an atheist and nihilist philosopher. Although this view is not wrong, but overemphasizing it has led to the neglect of religious discussions in his philosophy. This essay will try to study the different aspects of Schopenhauer’s considerations on religion. To do this, after preliminary points, his view on the origins of religion is studied and it is revealed that Schopenhauer denies a supernatural origin for religion and seeks its roots in human boredom and his desire for immortality. We then examine the emergence of historical religions and clarify that, from his viewpoint, all religions are derived from two religions, Brahmanism and Buddhism, in a gradual process, and the more they benefit from these two, the more reasonable they are. In the discussion about the classification of great religions, we will see that Schopenhauer divides religions into optimistic and pessimistic, and the reason for his inclination towards Indian religions is their pessimism. The essay, then, considers the positive and negative aspects of religion from Schopenhauer's point of view. He regards things like fanaticism as the demerits of religion and things like consolation as the merits of religion. Finally, some criticisms against his views on religion, including the secularization of religion, are raised. The present essay shows that despite the incompatibility between Schopenhauer’s philosophy and religious doctrines, his philosophical system is, to some extent, influenced by Eastern religions and ascetic Christianity.