Deconstruction of the Concept of God in the Modern Age: From Romanticism to the Critique of Religious Rationality

This article examines how the modern era, shaped by the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the rise of new philosophical paradigms, reshaped the very idea of God. Under the influence of Romanticism, materialism, mechanical determinism, and deepening religious skepticism, the classical image of a transcendent, absolute deity began to unravel. As these intellectual currents gained ground, God came to be seen less as an objective, eternal being and more as a concept open to interpretation, one increasingly centered on human subjectivity. Religious language, once the province of metaphysical truth-claims, began to function more as a vehicle for psychological and social meaning. David Hume’s critique of causality and his incisive attacks on the traditional proofs for God’s existence, especially in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, proved pivotal. His arguments undermined rational theology and cleared the path for experiential and skeptical approaches to religion. Yet this anti-realist reimagining of God faces serious limitations: it struggles to express divine essence and attributes, often overlooks the existential dimension of faith, and fails to account for the depth of religious experience. We argue that a viable rethinking of God today must move beyond mere critique. It requires drawing on the rational resources of the tradition while engaging constructively with both modern deconstruction and post-structuralist reinterpretations. Only through such dialogue can faith be reformulated within a contemporary, meaning-oriented horizon