Philosophy Optional · Paper II · Philosophy of Religion
Reason, Revelation and Faith Notes · PYQs
Free notes and every UPSC previous year question for Reason, Revelation and Faith, Unit 15 of Paper II, Section B: the official syllabus, 7 topic-wise notes in syllabus order, and all 26 questions from 2000 to 2026 grouped by sub-topic.
7
Free notes
26
Questions listed
21
Asked since 2013
2000–2026
Years covered
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Syllabus Free notes Previous year questions All Philosophy units
Official UPSC syllabus
Reason, Revelation and Faith: syllabus
The syllabus text for this unit in Paper II, Section B (Philosophy of Religion) of Philosophy Optional. Every note and question on this page maps to it.
Reason, Revelation and Faith.
Paper II · Section B · Unit 15
Reason, Revelation and Faith notes
Topic-wise notes for this unit in syllabus order, written for UPSC Mains in plain language, with diagrams and the previous year questions on each topic.
Free notes
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Reason in Religion: Religious Knowledge vs Belief, the Functions of Reason, Natural Theology and Its Limits, Reason as a Regulative Force, and Religion within Reason Alone
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Revelation I: Meaning and Kinds, General and Special, Natural vs Revealed Theology, the Propositional and Non-propositional Views, Scripture, Tradition and Experience, and Revelation across Religions
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Revelation II: Justifying Revelation, Does It Need Confirmation?, Criteria of Genuine Revelation, Locke, Aquinas, Hume and Kant, Faith and Revelation as Correlatives, and Revelation vs Śruti
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Faith I: The Nature of Faith, Belief-in and Belief-that, Faith vs Belief, the Features and Elements of Faith, Rational and Irrational Aspects, Hare’s Blik, Tillich’s Ultimate Concern and Śraddhā
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Faith II: Theories of Faith, Augustine and Anselm, Aquinas’ Faith as Intellectual Assent, Voluntarist Theories (Pascal, James, Tennant, Kant) and Hick’s Faith as Experiencing-as
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Faith and Reason: Evidentialism (Clifford, Locke, Flew), Fideism (Tertullian, Pascal, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein), the Thomist Harmony, Reformed Epistemology (Plantinga) and Can Religious Beliefs Be Justified?
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Reason, Revelation and Faith in Indian Thought: Cārvāka, Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, Advaita, Rāmānuja, Buddhism, Jainism and the Gītā, and Are Reason, Revelation and Faith Compatible?
Free practice
Previous year questions: Reason, Revelation and Faith
All 26 questions UPSC has set from this unit between 2000 and 2026, grouped by sub-topic with the most-asked first, newest first within each. Questions from 2013 onwards are shown; earlier ones open on a tap.
How often UPSC asks each sub-topic
| Sub-topic | Questions | Since 2013 | Last asked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faith and Reason | 5 | 5 | 2019 |
| Nature of Faith | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Reason in Religion | 3 | 3 | 2026 |
| Revelation and Reason | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nature of Revelation | 3 | 1 | 2022 |
| Propositional Revelation | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Tillich · Faith | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Aquinas · Faith | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Carvaka · Critique | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Justifying Religious Belief | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Reason, Revelation, Faith | 1 | 0 | 2008 |
| Hare · Bliks | 1 | 0 | 2006 |
Faith and Reason
5 questions · 5 since 2013 · last asked 2019
Asked since 2013 · 5
2019What is instrumental to self-revelation: Faith or Reason? Justify your position. (10 marks)2016Faith means human awareness of God; but it cannot be irrational. Analyse. (10 marks)2015Do faith and reason go together? Discuss. (10 marks)2014Can reason be used to justify faith? (15 marks)2013Is religious faith opposed to reason? (10 marks)
Nature of Faith
4 questions · 4 since 2013 · last asked 2023
Asked since 2013 · 4
2023Explain the rational and irrational aspects of faith in the discourse of religion. (15 marks)2020What are the basic tenets of faith? Distinguish between faith and belief. (15 marks)2017Discuss whether the voluntarist’s theories of faith are adequate. (15 marks)2016Critically discuss the view that ‘modern sensibility and total obedience to a despotic God’ do not go hand in hand. (10 marks)
Reason in Religion
3 questions · 3 since 2013 · last asked 2026
Asked since 2013 · 3
2026“If religion were a subject of reason alone, it would have lacked an experiential account.” Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons in support of your answer. (10 marks)2024Discuss the role of reason in religion. (10 marks)2021Discuss the role of reason and faith in religion. Can reason be a regulative force in the formulation of religious beliefs? Explain. (20 marks)
Revelation and Reason
3 questions · 2 since 2013 · last asked 2024
Asked since 2013 · 2
2024What kind of epistemic justifications are possible with regard to claims to revelation? Discuss with your own comments. (15 marks)2015Can revelation be justified by reason? Discuss. (15 marks)
Show 1 earlier question (before 2013)
2000 · 1 question
2000Reason and Revelation (20 marks)
Nature of Revelation
3 questions · 1 since 2013 · last asked 2022
Asked since 2013 · 1
2022Is the notion of faith indispensable for the idea of revelation? Critically comment. (10 marks)
Show 2 earlier questions (before 2013)
2006–2012 · 2 questions
2012The concept of revelation is essentially opposed to religious pluralism. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer (30 marks)2006Explain the notion of revelation. Does revelation stand in need of confirmation? Discuss and also explain the difference or similarity between revelation and Sruti (60 marks)
Propositional Revelation
2 questions · 2 since 2013 · last asked 2025
Asked since 2013 · 2
2025Distinguish between Natural Theology and Revealed Theology in the context of the Propositional view of Revelation. (15 marks)2016The content of revelation is a body of truths expressed in statements or propositions. But it cannot be against reason. Discuss (20 marks)
Tillich · Faith
1 question · 1 since 2013 · last asked 2026
Asked since 2013 · 1
2026How does Paul Tillich’s idea of faith as ultimate concern address the relation between faith, doubt and reason? Evaluate. (10 marks)
Aquinas · Faith
1 question · 1 since 2013 · last asked 2025
Asked since 2013 · 1
2025How does Aquinas’ account of Faith as “an intellectual assent” reconcile the juxtaposition between Reason and Faith? Discuss. (10 marks)
Carvaka · Critique
1 question · 1 since 2013 · last asked 2025
Asked since 2013 · 1
2025Discuss Carvaka’s critique of the belief in the existence of suprasensible entities. (10 marks)
Justifying Religious Belief
1 question · 1 since 2013 · last asked 2023
Asked since 2013 · 1
2023Can religious beliefs be justified? Discuss. (10 marks)
Reason, Revelation, Faith
1 question · 0 since 2013 · last asked 2008
2008 · 1 question
2008Discuss the role of reason, revelation and faith in the sphere of religion. Are they compatible? If not, how to resolve their apparent inconsistency? (60 marks)
Hare · Bliks
1 question · 0 since 2013 · last asked 2006
2006 · 1 question
2006Religious faith consists of a set of profoundly unfalsifiable assumptions that govern all of a person’s other beliefs.” (R. M. Hare), Critical notes. (20 marks)
Year-wise question papers
All question papers Topic-wise PYQ bank (both papers) 2026 paper 2025 paper 2024 paper 2023 paper
Next · Paper II · Unit 16
Religious Experience
Religious Experience: Nature and Object (Indian and Western).
Philosophy Optional
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