Philippine E-Journals

Religious Traces on Albert Camus

Herman Licayan

Discipline: Philosophy, Religion

 

Abstract:

A few of Albert Camus’s commentators were already uncomfortable in calling him an atheist which, according to the general perception, he is. Some of them even challenged the labeling of Camus as an atheist in the anthology of existentialist philosophers. A careful study of Camus’s works as well as of his personal life reveals that such a challenge is not baseless at all. This paper will (1) explore Camus’s commendation of monasticism, which might be unthinkable to many who have read The myth of Sisyphus, and (2) propose that, from the perspective of a religious believer, a refined theological engagement to Camus’s radical criticisms on religious beliefs and values will yield in Camus a new range of religious maturity.