Marek Pepliński
Instytut Filozofii, Socjologii i Dziennikarstwa, Uniwersytet Gdański.
Poland, 80‒309 Gdańsk, ul. Bażyńskiego 8;
e-mail: marek.peplinski@ug.edu.pl

The fact of religious diversity is vital for the philosopher of religion but also, to some extent,for the believer of a given faith. It takes place in such a dimension in which the views ofagiven believer or the meaning of the practice of a given religion presupposes the truthful-ness of specific claims concerning a given religion or the beliefs included in it. If now onthepart of the philosopher of religion or the followers of another religion, there is a direct orindirect challenge to such a key proposition, religious disagreement with epistemic dimen-sion is involved. At the same time, it is not the case that any religious diversity is a case ofepistemically significant religious dissent. The paper, by distinguishing different aspects ofreligions and functions performed by religion, tries to show in which situations religious di-versification leads to religious disagreement. Both the follower of religion and the philoso-pher of religion can and should seek the truth in matters of crucial importance to religion.The difference is that the follower of a given religion is more interested in the salvific andpractical functions of religion, along with the associated sense of value and meaningfulnessof life and, to a lesser degree, the theoretical certainty that her religion is correct at crucialpoints. On the other hand, the achievement of ‘the soteriological’ purpose of religion basedon false belief is impossible, just as the meaningfulness of life 'based on the sand and not onthe rock’. It is because the false foundation is devoid of higher value. That is why there isacommunity of a philosopher of religion and a follower of a given religion to search forthetruth of it.