Rationalism

In Christian theology, rationalism (from the Latin ratio, meaning “reason”) indicates a mode of thought in which human reason is the ultimate authority in establishing religious truth. In normative Anglican theology, reason is treated as one of three related sources of authority, along with scripture and tradition. In Anglican theology, reason allows itself to be corrected by scripture and tradition as it interprets them. In a rationalistic theology, on the other hand, reason is not corrected by anything else. See Authority, Sources of (in Anglicanism); see Deism; see Reason.