Abstract :
In this paper I argue that Poston and Dougherty’s attempt to underminethe problem of divine hiddenness by using the notion of belief de re is problematicat best. They hold that individuals who appear to be unbelievers (because they arede dicto unbelievers) may actually be de re believers. I construct a set of conditionson ascribing belief de re to show that it is prima facie implausible to claim thatseemingly inculpable and apparent unbelievers are really de re believers. Thus, whileit is indeed possible that a de dicto unbeliever is a de re believer, it is unlikely thatthis has sufficiently general application to actual individuals to alleviate the problemof divine hiddenness
