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Don Cupitt

Don Cupitt
Cupitt in 1970
Born(1934-05-22)22 May 1934
Oldham, Lancashire, England
Died18 January 2025(2025-01-18) (aged 90)
Cambridge, England
Occupations
  • Philosopher
  • academic
Years active1959–2025
Spouse
Susan Day
​
(m. 1963)​
Children3
Academic background
EducationCharterhouse School
Alma materTrinity Hall, Cambridge
Westcott House, Cambridge
Academic work
DisciplinePhilosopher of religion
Sub-disciplineChristian theology
InstitutionsEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Notable worksThe Sea of Faith
Websitedoncupitt.chi.ac.uk

Don Cupitt (22 May 1934 – 18 January 2025) was an English philosopher of religion and academic of Christian theology. He had been an Anglican priest and a lecturer in the University of Cambridge, though he was better known as a popular writer, broadcaster and commentator. He was described as a "radical theologian", noted for his ideas about "non-realist" philosophy of religion.[1][2]

Biography

Cupitt was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England, on 22 May 1934. He was educated at Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey; Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1955 and M.A. in 1958;[3] and Westcott House, Cambridge.[4] He studied, successively, natural sciences, theology and the philosophy of religion. In 1959, he was ordained deacon in the Church of England, becoming a priest in 1960. After serving as a curate in the parish of St Philip's and St Stephen's in Salford from 1959 to 1962,[3] his radical views and beliefs forced him out of church ministry as he could not and would not hold to or teach universal Christian doctrine. His views more closely followed that of an atheist seeking to live a morally good life, separate from any belief in, or need of, a relationship with God.[2]

While vice-principal of Westcott House, Cupitt was elected to a fellowship and appointed dean at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, late in 1965. Henceforth he remained at the college. In 1968, he was appointed to a university teaching post in philosophy of religion, a position in which he continued until his retirement for health reasons in 1996. At that time he proceeded to a life fellowship at Emmanuel College, which remained his base until his death. In the early 1990s, he stopped officiating at public worship and in 2008, he ceased to be a communicant member of the Church of England.[5]

Though he had been a priest, he was better known as a writer, broadcaster and populariser of innovative theological ideas. He wrote 40 books—which have been translated into Dutch, Persian, Polish, Korean, Portuguese, Danish, German and Chinese—as well as chapters in more than 30 multi-authored volumes.

Cupitt came to the British public's attention in 1984 with his BBC television series The Sea of Faith, in which orthodox Christian beliefs were challenged. The series took its title from Matthew Arnold's poem Dover Beach, which reflected on the decline of faith. Cupitt was a key figure in the Sea of Faith Network, a group of spiritual "explorers" (based in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia) who shared Cupitt's concerns. Prompted by the series, Giles Fraser sought a meeting with Cupitt, which led Fraser from atheism to Christian faith and ordination in the Church of England.[6]

After he began writing in 1971, Cupitt's views continued to evolve and change.[7] In his early books such as Taking Leave of God and The Sea of Faith Cupitt spoke of God alone as non-real,[8] but by the end of the 1980s, he moved into postmodernism, describing his position as "empty radical humanism":[9] that is, "[T]here is nothing but our language, our world, and the meanings, truths and interpretations that we have generated. Everything is non-real, including God".[10]

In his writings, Cupitt sometimes described himself as a Christian non-realist, meaning that he followed certain spiritual practices and attempted to live by ethical standards traditionally associated with Christianity but without believing in the actual existence of the underlying metaphysical entities (such as "Christ" and "God"). He termed this way of being a non-realist Christian "solar living".

Cupitt in 2014

Cupitt married Susan Day in 1963, who survives him, and had three children.[11] He died at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge following a short illness on 18 January 2025, at the age of 90.[12][13]

Quotations

Cupitt has an entry in the 8th edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations: "Christmas is the Disneyfication of Christianity."[14][15]

Books

(Partial list)

  • Crisis of Moral Authority: The Dethronement of Christianity, Lutterworth Press, 1972, ISBN 0-7188-1924-1
  • Who was Jesus? (London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1977). With Peter Armstrong.
  • The Debate About Christ. SCM Press, 1979 ISBN 0-334-00303-2
  • Taking Leave of God, SCM Press, 1980, 2001 edition: ISBN 0-334-02840-X
  • The Sea of Faith, BBC Books, 1984, Cambridge University Press 1988 edition: ISBN 0-521-34420-4
  • The Long-Legged Fly: A Theology of Language and Desire, SCM Press, 1987 ISBN 0-334-00926-X
  • The Time Being, SCM Press, 1992, ISBN 0-334-02522-2
  • After All: Religion Without Alienation, SCM Press, 1994, ISBN 0-334-00036-X
  • After God: The Future of Religion, Basic Books, 1997, ISBN 0-465-04514-6
  • Mysticism After Modernity, Blackwell Publishers, 1998, ISBN 0-631-20763-5
  • The Religion of Being, SCM Press, 1998, ISBN 0-334-02731-4
  • The New Religion of Life in Everyday Speech, SCM Press, 1999, ISBN 0-334-02763-2
  • Reforming Christianity, Polebridge Press, 2001, ISBN 0-944344-82-8
  • Emptiness & Brightness, Polebridge Press. 2001, ISBN 0-944344-87-9
  • Is Nothing Sacred?: The Non-Realist Philosophy of Religion (selected essays), Fordham University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8232-2203-9
  • The Way To Happiness: A Theory of Religion, Polebridge Press, 2005, ISBN 0-944344-53-4
  • The Old Creed and the New, SCM Press, 2006, ISBN 0-334-04053-1
  • Radical Theology, Polebridge Press, 2006: ISBN 0-944344-97-6
  • Impossible Loves, Polebridge Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-59815-001-8
  • Above Us Only Sky, Polebridge Press, 2008, ISBN 1-59815-011-1
  • The Meaning of the West, SCM Press, 2008, ISBN 0-334-04202-X
  • Jesus and Philosophy, SCM Press, 2009, ISBN 0-334-04338-7

See also

References

  1. ^ Edmonds, David; Warburton, Nigel (2010). Philosophy Bites. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 191–200. ISBN 978-0-19-969466-2.
  2. ^ a b Tilby, Angela (15 March 2019). "Don Cupitt – a spiritual sceptic". Church Times. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Crockford's Clerical Directory for 2016–2017. Crockford's Clerical Directory. London: Church House Publishing. 1 December 2015. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-7151-1101-7.
  4. ^ Cupitt, Don (May–June 2016). "Oral history of British science: Cupitt, Don (1 of 5). Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum. Life Story Interviews" (Audio). Interviewed by Paul Merchant. British Library Sounds. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  5. ^ "The Revd Don Cupitt | Fellows & Researchers". Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  6. ^ Dawson, Rosie (15 March 2019). "Dear Mr Cupitt". Church Times. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  7. ^ Leaves, Nigel (2004). Odyssey on the Sea of Faith: The Life & Writings of Don Cupitt. Santa Rosa, California: Polebridge Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0944344620.
  8. ^ "Don Cupitt on Non-Realism About God". Philosophy Bites. Institute of Philosophy. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  9. ^ Cupitt, Don (12 February 2012). "The Non-Realism of Don Cupitt". Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  10. ^ Hyman, Gavin (2001). The Predicament of Postmodern Theology: Radical Orthodoxy or Nihilist Textualism?. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 44–49. ISBN 978-0664223663.
  11. ^ "The Rev Don Cupitt, radical 'Sea of Faith' churchman who blazed a trail for Christian atheism". The Telegraph. 20 January 2025. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Don Cupitt 1934–2025". Don Cupitt. 19 January 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  13. ^ Wallace, Jane (20 January 2025). "The Reverend Don Cupitt, 1934-2025". Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  14. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (8th ed.). p. 250.
  15. ^ The Independent. 19 December 1996.

Further reading

  • Holding Fast to God: A Reply to Don Cupitt, Keith Ward, Abingdon Press, 1990, ISBN 0-687-85476-8
  • The Predicament of Postmodern Theology: Radical Orthodoxy or Nihilist Textualism?, Gavin Hyman, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001
  • Odyssey on the Sea of Faith: The Life and Writings of Don Cupitt, Nigel Leaves, Polebridge Press, 2004, ISBN 0-944344-62-3
  • Surfing on the Sea of Faith: The Ethics and Religion of Don Cupitt, Nigel Leaves, Polebridge Press, 2005, ISBN 0-944344-63-1
  • New Directions in Philosophical Theology: Essays in Honour of Don Cupitt, Gavin Hyman (editor), Ashgate Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0-7546-5061-8
Quelle: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cupitt