Immanuel Kant, Theologian

The paper argues that Kant has significant theological commitments, in relation to God and a conception of transcendence. At the same time, he is not easily regarded as a traditional Christian, because of his views about the relationship between divine action, grace, human freedom, and happiness. Kant witnesses to a perennial strand of philosophy that leans into the category of the divine at the edges of what we can say about reason and freedom. Trajectories and possibilities inherent within Kant’s philosophical theology can go in a number of directions, not all of them compatible with each other. Kant’s philosophical theology can therefore provide a resource and impetus for a wide range of theological movements in the long nineteenth century.