Religious experiences

Question 1

Mystical experience

Answer 1

A spiritual experience beyond the ordinary.

Question 2

Conversion experience

Answer 2

An experience which consequently alters someone’s beliefs.

Question 3

Corporate experience

Answer 3

A religious experience which was undergone by a group of people.

Question 4

Passive (James’ PINT)

Answer 4

An experience not instigated by the individual.

Question 5

Noetic (James’ PINT)

Answer 5

Gaining knowledge that cannot be accessed through reason.

Question 6

Transient (James’ PINT)

Answer 6

An experience having a long lasting effect.

Question 7

Ineffable (James’ PINT)

Answer 7

The experience cannot be described or put into words.

Question 8

Pragmatism - James

Answer 8

Being practical, the practical outcomes if an experience give the experience value.

Question 9

Empiricism

Answer 9

The belief that you can gain knowledge through experience/evidence.

Question 10

Pluralism

Answer 10

Truth of the divine can be reached by every religion.

Question 11

Psychology

Answer 11

The study of the brain in relation to behaviour.

Question 12

Physiology

Answer 12

A chemical study of the brain.

Question 13

Swinburne’s principle of testimony

Answer 13

if someone is of sound mind, their experience is valid and should be accepted.

Question 14

Swinburne’s principle of credulity

Answer 14

Unless there is evidence to prove otherwise (eg if someone isnt of sound mind), their experience is valid and should be accepted.

Question 15

Mass hysteria

Answer 15

Something psychological which occurs to a large group of individuals.

Question 16

James on religious experience

Answer 16

You shouldn’t look at the cause but instead at the effects. If a religious experience has changed someone’s life it is a genuine experience for them.

Question 17

James quote

Answer 17

“We can experience union with something larger than ourselves”

Question 18

Schleiermacher on religious experience

Answer 18

The essence of religion was based in personal experience - it is the heart of faith.

Question 19

Catholics on religious experience

Answer 19

Religious experiences have to be tested against scripture/teachings to be validated,

Question 20

Happold on religious experience

Answer 20

There are similar features between mysticism found throughout different cultures.

All religions strive to connect with a ‘divine ground’.

Question 21

Otto on religious experience

Answer 21

Numinous - A feeling of awe which you can’t describe.

Recognising that God is both dangerous and attractive.

Recognising the mystery.

Recognising the importance.

Question 22

Julian of Norwich example

Answer 22

She had a series of visions of Christ and felt an overwhelming sense of love from God. This intensified her faith.
BUT she was ill which might invalidate her experience.

Question 23

Teresa of Avila example

Answer 23

“Transverberation of the heart” an angel pierced her heart causing her pain and ecstacy.

BUT she was locked away.

Question 24

Starbuck on religious experiences

Answer 24

The search for identity and purpose leads to a religious experience that is psychological rather than divine.

Question 25

Kant on religious experience

Answer 25

it is logically impossible to experience God or a noumenal reality since we are in the world of the senses.

Question 26

Starbuck quote

Answer 26

“Normal adolescent phenomenon”

Question 27

Example of corporate experience

Answer 27

The Toronto Blessing - the church gatherings were completely overcome by God

Question 28

Biblical example of corporate experience

Answer 28

The pentecost - the holy spirit fuelled the disciples and enabled them to heal and speak different languages.

Question 29

Dawkins quote

Answer 29

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”

Question 30

Swinburne

Answer 30

We should believe what people tell us unless we have good reason to double

Question 31

Feuerbach on religious experiences

Answer 31

They have origins in the human mind rather than coming from God. When people are worshipping God they are worshipping their own human nature.

Question 32

Freud on religious experiences

Answer 32

People are fooling themselves to believe there is a God, some people can’t cope with the idea of an adult life (‘infantile neurosis’) so they use God as a paternal figure.
People mistaken their super ego for God.

Question 33

Winnicot on religious experiences

Answer 33

They are simply delusions, and people fool themselves into thinking they’re worshipping God when they are actually worshipping their own human nature.

Question 34

Freud quote

Answer 34

“Religions are illusions, fulfillments of the oldest and strongest wishes of mankind”

Question 35

Neurophysiology

Answer 35

An area of science which studies the brain and the nervous system.

Question 36

Persinger’s God helmet

Answer 36

An experiment where people wore a helmet device which transmitted weak magnetic signals to the brain - a lot of people had the symptoms of a religious experience.

Question 37

Physiological explanations

Answer 37

Hormones in the brain can increase in times of stress which may contribute.

OR…medicine to treat trauma can cause hallucinations.

Question 38

Mass hysteria example

Answer 38

Dancing plague of 1518

Question 39

Near death experiences

Answer 39

Experienced by people in a come/cardiac arrest/being resurrected - they often feel a loving presence or see a bright light.

Question 40

Hobbs and Watt on near death experiences

Answer 40

Near death experiences can be explained by biology and hormones produced in times of high stress or medicine.

Question 41

Persinger on religious experience

Answer 41

Things that are created by the temporal lobe, not by a divine being outside our own heads.

Question 42

St Paul’s conversion experience

Answer 42

He once persecuted Christians, until he had a vision of God who spoke to him and converted him.