Humans have an innate knowledge of God – Discuss
40 marks
OCR A-level religious studies
Natural knowledge of God is that which is discoverable through reason. The Bible supports revealed
knowledge of God, however many people think it is unreliable due to its lack of empirical evidence
and focus on faith. An example of this is an innate sense of God, which some people believe, through
reason and faith, leads us to discover God. This can be justified by the Universal Consent argument,
however, as Richard Dawkins argues, the only true knowledge can come from experience.
John Calvin, a 16th century theologian, and the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church both believe
in an innate knowledge of God. Calvin, in his writings ‘Institutes’, called this ‘sensus divinitatis’,
meaning a sense of the divine, or ‘seed of religion’, which is imprinted into human nature. He
40 marks
OCR A-level religious studies
Natural knowledge of God is that which is discoverable through reason. The Bible supports revealed
knowledge of God, however many people think it is unreliable due to its lack of empirical evidence
and focus on faith. An example of this is an innate sense of God, which some people believe, through
reason and faith, leads us to discover God. This can be justified by the Universal Consent argument,
however, as Richard Dawkins argues, the only true knowledge can come from experience.
John Calvin, a 16th century theologian, and the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church both believe
in an innate knowledge of God. Calvin, in his writings ‘Institutes’, called this ‘sensus divinitatis’,
meaning a sense of the divine, or ‘seed of religion’, which is imprinted into human nature. He
