How did Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea of language games influence some forms of religious antirealism?

Ludwig Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, particularly his concepts of language games and "forms of life," significantly influenced religious antirealism by shifting the focus from the objective truth of religious claims to their functional role within human practice.12

Wittgenstein argued that the meaning of words is derived from their use within specific social activities. Antirealists applied this to religion, suggesting that religious language functions as an autonomous system of social practice rather than a set of factual, truth-apt propositions. Consequently:312

• Autonomy of Religious Language: Religious beliefs are viewed as meaningful only within the context of the religious "form of life." Therefore, attempting to evaluate them using external criteria—such as scientific verification or logical positivist standards—is considered a category mistake.12
• Rejection of Transcendent Reference: In this view, religious statements do not refer to objective, transcendent realities (like an objectively existing God). Instead, they express distinctive attitudes, moral commitments, or ways of engaging with the world.12
• Validity: Religious positions are seen as valid insofar as they remain faithful to the internal criteria of their own specific language game, rather than through correspondence with an independent reality.1

This perspective emphasizes that religious language is expressive of human ideals and intentions rather than descriptive of a metaphysical reality.2