Why did logical positivists claim that theological statements lacked cognitive meaning?

Logical positivists claimed that theological statements lacked cognitive meaning because they failed to meet the requirements of the verifiability principle. This doctrine held that for a non-tautological statement to be meaningful, it must be capable of being empirically verified, falsified, or at least supported by observable evidence within human experience.123

Because theological assertions—such as "God exists" or "God is love"—refer to transcendent entities or events that cannot be empirically observed or demonstrated, positivists argued they are not factual propositions. Since no set of observable conditions could count for or against their truth, these statements were deemed "cognitively vacuous" or literally meaningless.4513

While positivists acknowledged that such language might still hold significance by expressing emotions, influencing feelings, or guiding conduct, they maintained that it does not impart knowledge or function as a description of reality. Consequently, they categorized religious discourse as non-cognitive, asserting that it lacks the logical status required to be considered either true or false.12645