RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Herrmann, EberhardYR 1991 T1 The rationality of ideologies and religions1This paper is based on a series of lectures given at the University of Utrecht in October 1990. I wish to thank prof .dr Vincent Brümmer and his seminar in philosophy of religion for many fruitful questions and comments. JF NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion, VO 45 IS 3 SP 223 OP 238 DO https://doi.org/10.5117/NTT1991.3.005.HERR PB Amsterdam University Press, SN 2590-3268, AB Abstract The aim of this article is to develop a criterion for deciding when it is rational to adhere to an ideology or a religion. Various views on the rationality of religions are discussed, and a structural view on ideologies and religions is developed. The view is then defended that it is rational to adhere to an ideology or religion only if it can serve to create and sustain values. For this purpose a utopian concept of human life is required on the basis of which we can decide both what is to count as failure, guilt etc., and also what attitude we are to adopt toward reality., UL https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/NTT1991.3.005.HERR