Religious Experience

Question 1

What does William James argue?

Answer 1

That we are studying the very heart of religion, whereas studying beliefs and practices is merely second hand religion . Beliefs and practices develop later as people reflect on their experiences within the theological system

Question 2

What does James argue about Religion and the mind?

Answer 2

-James accepts that there may be a psychological or physiological explanation to religious experience.
-Yet he argues that this may not be the full explanation. Even if there is a natural cause of the experience, there may also be a supernatural one behind it
-What is important when we judge whether experiences are genuine is not what causes them (their root) but the effects that they have (the fruits)
-In one example he gives, just because it is possible that Paul’s conversion was an epileptic episode, this does not mean that it was not also a genuine religious experience; his changed life after the experience counts as evidence for this

Question 3

What does James say are the 4 features common to all religious experiences?

Answer 3

1. Passive
2. Ineffable
3. Noetic
4. Transient

Question 4

What is meant by passive?

Answer 4

the person was not in control of what happened to them. It feels as if it is being controlled from outside – they are the recipient rather than the instigator.
They feel ‘grasped and held’ by a superior power.
James saw this as evidence that a religious experience cannot be explained by saying a person willed it.

Question 5

What is meant by ineffable?

Answer 5

impossible to express in words.
The RE goes far beyond the human powers of description. The person feels unable to describe the experience or not do it justice.
St Teresa of Avila states, ‘I wish I could give a description of at least the smallest part of what I have learned, but, when I try to discover a way of doing so, I find it impossible …’

Question 6

What is meant by Noetic?

Answer 6

the person receives knowledge of God which is not otherwise available.
The experience is therefore a direct revelation from God.
There is a ‘curious sense of authority.

Question 7

What is meant by transient?

Answer 7

the experience is not permanent; it usually lasts half an hour or less.
However, the effects of the experience are long lasting - the effects/changes in the person show that it is an authentic religious experience.

Question 8

What are James’ key principles on Religious experience?

Answer 8

1. Pragmatism
2. Empiricism
3. Pluralism

Question 9

What is pragmatism?

Answer 9

-James is a pragmatist in terms of his understanding of the idea of truth. Truth is not something that is fixed but rather ‘true’ is whatever has value for us and works in real life.
-Hence given the effects of religious experiences, we ought to conclude that they are probably true

Question 10

What is empiricism?

Answer 10

-James is committed to an empirical approach. Although we cannot empirically verify the experience, the result of the experience is empirical data
-If a former criminal is now living a good and religious life following a conversion experience, thus can be observed by our senses

Question 11

What is pluralism?

Answer 11

-James’ research into experiences in different faiths led him to conclude that there were similarities.
-These experiences may be interpreted differently dependant on our own views and belief systems but if they produce positive effects then they are in some sense true.
-Hence there is truth in all faiths

Question 12

What might religious experience mean?

Answer 12

-William James stopped short of suggesting that they prove God.
-James draws an analogy with drunkenness; a drunk is put into another state by alcohol. So too a mystic may be able to access these experiences; James distinguishes between the ordinary man and the spiritual man

Question 13

What are James’ conclusions to what Religious experiences show?

Answer 13

1. The world we see is part of a more spiritual universe from which it gets its main significance
2. To unite with this higher universe is our true end or purpose
3. Prayer or meditation is a real process where spiritual energy flows and produces psychological and material effects within the world we see
4. Religion seems to provide people with a new zest for life and/ or provides purpose
5. An assurance of safety and a sense of peace and love in relationships to others is also produced

Question 14

What is St Teresa of Avila’s example on mystical experiences?

Answer 14

I was at a prayer on a festival of the glorious Saint Peter when I saw Christ at my side, or, to put it better, I was conscious of him, for neither with the eyes of the body or of the soul did I see anything. I thought he was quite close to me and I saw that it was he who, as I thought, was speaking to me… All the time Jesus Christ seemed to be beside me… I could not discern in what form

Question 15

What does Otto say about numinous experience?

Answer 15

-He challenges the idea that religious experience is intimate
-Numinous experiences are experiences of awe and wonder in the presence of an almighty God. In it, we are not so much United with God but aware of our own insignifiance in his presence

Question 16

What phrase does Otto use to describe numinous experiences?

Answer 16

Mysterium: tremendum et fascinans

Question 17

What are all numinous experiences?

Answer 17

-Mysterious
-Tremendous and terrifying
-Fascinating and compelling

Otto argues that all religious experience is numinous in nature. However, it is a matter of debate among philosophers whether numinous experiences are a completely different type of experience or are just a type of mystical experience

Question 18

What are the 2 things William James talks about on conversion?

Answer 18

-Centre of energy
-Psychology

Question 19

What does James say about centre of energy?

Answer 19

-A conversion involves someone altering their beliefs and way of life. It is similar to what may happen gradually over time in what James refers to as the shifting of energies. An example of this may be that our entire thoughts are taken over by rock music, but this is gradually replaced by a passion for politics
-James’ own example involves the president who, while fishing on a day off, gives little thought to political matters. In a religious conversion, religious and identity come to be at the centre of a person’s consciousness

Question 20

What does James say about psychology on conversion?

Answer 20

-James’ views on conversion fit with his general ideas on religious experience. There is undoubtedly a psychological explanation of conversion- James suggests that the subconscious may be active in a similar way to when someone is in a hypnotic state- but thus psychological explanation need not be the whole explanation

Question 21

What happened in Paul’s conversion experience whcih changed him from a persecutor of the early Christian’s to one of it’s greatest leaders?

Answer 21

About noon as soon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me. ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked

‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting’, he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

‘What shall I do lord?’ I asked

Question 22

What are the 3 arguments for religious experience as union with a higher power?

Answer 22

-The effects
-The volume
-Similarities

Question 23

What is the argument of the effects for religious experience as a union with a higher power?

Answer 23

-The effects of religious experiences can be significant and often highly positive (although not always).
-William James argues that this ‘judging of the fruit’ is the only possible test for religious experiences
-It is argued that a natural explanation is inadequate to explain these effects

Question 24

What is the argument of the volume for religious experience as union with a higher power?

Answer 24

-If religious experiences were more rare, they could be dismissed more easily. Yet there is significant volume of religious experiences
-It is claimed by David Hay that around 30% of people questioned have had experience of ‘a powerful spiritual force’

Question 25

What is the argument for similarities for religious experience as union with a higher power?

Answer 25

There are considerable similarities of description that would not be present if people were making up or imagining their accounts

Question 26

What are Richard Swinburne’s 2 arguments for religious experience?

Answer 26

-The principle of credulity
-The principle of testimony

Question 27

What is the principle of credulity?

Answer 27

We should accept what appears to be the case unless we have clear evidence to the contrary

Question 28

What is he principle of testimony?

Answer 28

We should believe that what others tell us happened probably did happen unless we have a good reason not to- for instance they are untrustworthy or under the influence

Question 29

How would we respond to Swinburne’s argument?

Answer 29

-Religious experiences are different to ordinary experiences. They are not empirical but are usually private to the individuals mind. Hence it is unwise to give them the benefit of the doubt
-Peter Donovan draws a distinction between ‘feeling certain’ and ‘being right’. When a believer claims to know God through religious experience, they are merely saying that they feel certain. The claim is subjective
-Experiences are interpreted quite differently by followers of different faiths and this leads to different and conflicting truth claims

Question 30

Is testimony enough to support the validity of religious experience?

Answer 30

-In everyday, we evaluate people’s claims by a number of factors: we may consider the reputation or past reliability of an individual, whether they were in a good state to perceive what they claim?
-We may also consider whether the individual in question has a bias or has something to gain from the claim they are making
-American philosopher Caroline Franks- David’s argues that while we can take everyday claims at face value, the issue of religious experience is not a trivial one and thus deserves more critical treatment
-William James and others would argue that the testimony alone is not sufficient to prove an experience genuine. The after effecfs in terms of character and lifestyle- the ‘fruit’- are more important.
-However, Bertrand Russell argued that even a good effect is not necessarily evidence; good effects on character can be produced by fictional characters in books

Question 31

What is the psychological explanation of religious experiences?

Answer 31

-Feuerbach argues that the idea of God is a human invention. All the attributes of God- such as power, knowledge and goodness- can be seen in human nature. We project and street these human qualities to create the idea of God. We create God in our image- ‘God is man written in large letters’
-Sigmund Freud argued that religious behaviour was a neurosis caused by childhood insecurities. The idea of God existing is psychologically attractive as our wrongdoing can be forgiven and we have hope in the face of death. Religious experiences are therefore hallucinations that are caused by deep subconscious desires in the same way as dreams when we are asleep

Question 32

What is the physiological explanation of religious experiences?

Answer 32

-Richard Dawkins has suggested that religious ideas may be ‘memes’. Similar to the way that genes work, these are ideas that as we have evolved have been useful to our survival, hence our brain accepts them more readily. They are reproduced within our brains. Dawkins refers to religion as a ‘virus of the mind’
-Michael Persinger’s experiment involving the ‘God helmet’ has also aroused interest. In this experiment, volunteers wore a helmet that generated a magnetic field around their brain. A significant proportion of the participants reported feelings that were similar to those In religious experiences

Question 33

What is a response to the physiological explanation of religious experiences?

Answer 33

-As with the psychological challenge the fact that there is a physical dimension to religious experience need not lead us to reject the experience completely
-On a physical level, our ordinary experiences, such as hearing birds sing, can be reduced to neurological events but that does not mean the birds are not real. In the same way, it may be that God is causing our experiences, and using our ‘holistic operator’ to do it

Question 34

What are the examples of corporate religious experiences?

Answer 34

-Fatima
-Medjugorie- 6 kids experienced visions about Mary in several days
-Toronto blessing- uncontrollable holy laughter

Question 35

What assumptions need to be made for re’s to be evidence for the existence of God?

Answer 35

1. Experiences are genuine and cannot be explained in a natural way
2. It is God that is causing these experiences

Question 36

What are the reasons why God might not be causing Re’s?

Answer 36

-Interpretation and conflicting truth claims
-Particularity
-Logical problems

Question 37

How is interpretation and conflicting truth claims a reason why God isn’t causing these experiences?

Answer 37

-It may be that all experiencers encounter the same thing but interpret it differently. This is fine in general terms for Judaism, Christianity and Islam wheee the idea of God is broadly similar
-There is a belief in many Gods in popular Hinduism and most forms of Buddhism are atheistic
-Is God at work in all faiths?
-Do some misinterpret him because of their existing beliefs?
-Ade some experiences false?

Question 38

How is particularity a reason for God not causing these experiences?

Answer 38

-If this is God who is causing the experiences, it raises an interesting theological objection as God is choosing some for experiences and not others. Would it not be better if God revealed himself to all or none rather than show favouritism

Question 39

How are logical problems a reason why God isn’t causing re’s?

Answer 39

-If there is a God, he is logically ‘wholly other’ to human beings. This leads some thinkers such as Kant to suggest that religious experience is logically impossible.
-However, while it may be impossible for us to reach God, there is no reason why God cannot choose to reveal himself to us in a way that we can comprehend

Question 40

What is the response to the psychological challenge?

Answer 40

-James argued that even if religious experiences have a psychological explanation, this does not mean that a supernatural explanation is ruled out.
-Carl Gustav Jung accepted religious experience and responded to Freud by suggesting that the development of our spiritual aspect was essential to psychological wholeness.
-He claimed that each of us has the archetype of God from within a shared collective unconscious