Religious Experience Theme 3

Question 1

What is a religious experience?

Answer 1

A direct, personal encounter with the divine or ultimate reality that can be transformative for the individual.

Question 2

What are the four types of religious experiences according to William James?

Answer 2

1. Ineffability (beyond description),
2. Noetic quality (providing knowledge),
3. Transiency (brief duration but lasting impact),
4. Passivity (feeling of being controlled by a higher power).

Question 3

What is the definition of a mystical experience?

Answer 3

An experience where an individual feels a deep connection or unity with the divine or ultimate reality, often involving feelings of transcendence.

Question 4

What is the definition of a mystical experience?

Answer 4

An experience where an individual feels a deep connection or unity with the divine or ultimate reality, often involving feelings of transcendence.

Question 5

What are numinous experiences?

Answer 5

Experiences of awe and wonder in the presence of something wholly other, often associated with a feeling of the divine or sacred as described by Rudolf Otto.

Question 6

What did Rudolf Otto mean by ‘mysterium tremendum et fascinans’?

Answer 6

The concept that religious experiences are both terrifying (tremendum) and fascinating (fascinans), evoking a deep emotional response towards the divine.

Question 7

What is a conversion experience?

Answer 7

A life-changing religious experience in which a person adopts a new religious faith or perspective, often accompanied by a sense of divine presence or guidance.

Question 8

What are corporate religious experiences?

Answer 8

Religious experiences shared by a group of people, often seen as more powerful because multiple individuals claim to have had the same experience (e.g., the events at Pentecost).

Question 9

What are some criticisms of religious experience as evidence for God’s existence?

Answer 9

1. Subjectivity (experiences are personal and can’t be universally verified),
2. Psychological explanations (could be due to mental states or brain activity),
3. Cultural influence (religious experiences often reflect the individual’s cultural or religious background).

Question 10

What is the difference between a mystical experience and a conversion experience?

Answer 10

A mystical experience involves a sense of unity with the divine, while a conversion experience involves a dramatic change in belief or faith.

Question 11

What are the 4 different stages of prayer according to St Teresa Of Avila

Answer 11

Bucket, well, river, rain

Question 12

What are Caroline Franks Davis’ main challenges to religious experiences?

Answer 12

She identifies six main challenges: description-related, subject-related, and object-related challenges, along with others like moral, psychological, and contradictory claims challenges.

Question 13

What is a description-related challenge to religious experience?

Answer 13

It questions whether the person describing the experience is using language that accurately conveys what happened, or if it’s vague, exaggerated, or unclear.

Question 14

What is a subject-related challenge to religious experience?

Answer 14

This challenge questions the reliability of the person having the experience, suggesting they may be mistaken, deluded, or under the influence of psychological factors.

Question 15

What is an object-related challenge in the context of religious experience?

Answer 15

This challenge focuses on whether the divine or spiritual being that is supposedly experienced actually exists, or if it’s just a product of the individual’s imagination.

Question 16

What is the psychological challenge to religious experience?

Answer 16

It suggests that religious experiences can be explained by psychological conditions such as hallucinations, mental illness, or emotional stress rather than being encounters with the divine.

Question 17

What is the moral challenge to religious experience?

Answer 17

It questions the validity of religious experiences that contradict accepted moral values or cause harm, suggesting such experiences might be unreliable or deceptive.

Question 18

Why are description-related challenges problematic for religious experiences?

Answer 18

Because religious experiences are often subjective and ineffable, making it difficult to describe them clearly or verify their accuracy.

Question 19

What does the subject-related challenge suggest about the reliability of personal religious experiences?

Answer 19

It suggests that personal biases, mental states, or cultural conditioning may influence or distort the experience.

Question 20

What role does the object-related challenge play in questioning the existence of God or other divine beings in religious experiences?

Answer 20

It casts doubt on whether there is any real divine entity behind the experience, suggesting it might be a projection of the mind.