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fideist

fideist

9.9
A person who believes religious faith is more important than reason
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪdiɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fideísta
  • Even though Daniel Odell's early work on Young's use of Cambridge Platonism recognized a central intellectual current of his Counter-Enlightenment thought, Odell has more recently challenged the characterization of Young as a fideist who ultimately rejected natural reason and analogy.

Examples

  • There are religious fideists of various faiths who hold that moral truths cannot be known apart from God's special revelation.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The philosopher argued that the views of a fideist highlight the limits of rational thought when it comes to spirituality.

  • "Again, this anti-intellectual fideist nonsense is written in a book called "Reasonable Faith"!

    Blog text (26)
  • Many religious leaders consider a fideist approach essential for understanding faith beyond human reason.

  • As a fideist, she believes that faith can provide answers that logic cannot.

Synonyms

believer
vsfideist
343 3.2

A person who accepts something as true and often supports it, for example a religion or idea

specifically sees religious faith as independent or superior to reason
religionist
vsfideist
5 8.4

A person who strongly follows and practices a religion

focuses on faith independence or superiority over reason rather than devotion
antirationalist
vsfideist
  • Specialized
9.4

A person who opposes using reason to form beliefs or make decisions

accepts religious faith as independent or superior to reason
nonrationalist
vsfideist
  • Specialized
9.2

A person who does not base beliefs only on reason and values feeling and faith

prefers religious faith rather than relying only on reason
irrationalist
vsfideist
8.3

A person who prefers feelings or faith over logic

holds religious faith as higher or separate from rational argument

Antonyms

rationalist
  • Formal
4 7.5

Expressing belief that reason and logic are the best way to know things

Surface Forms

fideist singular
fideists plural

Morphology

fideist = fideism (semi-transparent) = fide + ism + ist

The formation from fideism to fideist is regular and easy to parse, but the learned base fideism itself is not transparent to most learners.

Etymology

The word fideist comes from the Latin fides meaning 'faith', and you can see the same root in English words like faith, fidelity, and confide, all about trust. So a fideist is someone who trusts 'faith' more than reason or proof.