Strange Religion and the Need for Wittgensteinian Philosophy

Abstract

Wittgensteinian philosophy is needed to make sense of the strange practices in neo-Pentecostal religion that have been in the news in recent years. Other philosophical approaches have argued that spirits and miracles are fake, or real, or reasonable; but this misses the important question of what kind of reality is at stake here. The Wittgensteinian practice of providing hints and reminders clarifies the kind of reality that is implied in a particular context on a deeper level. By introducing this ethnographically informed philosophical approach, it can be shown that the kind of reality involved in this strange religion is that of a response to experiences of a world full of contingency, uncertainty, and chance.