Faith comes before reason. The eight writers in this collection examine the limits of rational inquiry and the authority of revelation and inherited practice.

From Iamblichus and al-Ghazālī to Pascal, Hamann, and Shestov, these thinkers approach the question from pagan, Islamic, and Christian traditions. Their doctrines differ, sometimes significantly, but they share the conviction that reason finds its place only within a religious life grounded in something prior to reason itself.

Together, these writings point to an older understanding of religion, one fully dependent on tradition and sacred authority. They treat faith as the foundation of human understanding, not its conclusion. In the writings of some of the greatest religious thinkers of all time, the reader will find that religious truth is something received rather than discovered. In these pages, fideism takes its place within the wider tradition of religious restoration.