Verifying Religious Experience

Question 1

List the 5 main challenges to verifying religious experiences

Answer 1

1. We only have the word of the individual who claims they had the experience
2. They are subjective/private experiences/feeling so they’re ‘just in the mind’
3. They’re ineffable - those who experience them, can’t describe them, os there’s nothing ‘real’ to describe
4. There are contradictory religious experiences so can’t all be true
5. They are so extraordinary and rare as to see

Question 2

Which scholar founded the principle of credulity and testimony

Answer 2

Richard Swinburne

Question 3

True or false: Richard Swinburne believes that religious experience cannot support the existence of God

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Explain the principle of credulity

Answer 4

We should assume things are credible unless we have evidence that proves otherwise

‘We ought to believe that things are as they seem to be, until we have evidence that we’re mistaken’

Question 5

Swinburne’s stance on the existence of God

Answer 5

God cannot be proved through logical arguments e.g., ontological, however, experiences of the world suggest that God probably exists and religious experiences are part of this probability argument

Question 6

Explain the principle of testimony

Answer 6

We should assume people are telling the truth unless we have evidence that proves otherwise.

In the absence of special considerations, the experiences of others are probably as they report them

Question 7

Explain the quote:’On our total evidence, theism is more probable than not’

Answer 7

• If you take all evidence of God, theism is more probable than not
• More likely God exists, hence why we should be inclined to believing these experiences

Question 8

Explain the quote:’We ought to believe that things are as they seem to be, until, we have evidence that they’re mistaken’

Answer 8

• Supported by Occam’s razor, if the experience appears to be God, it probably is
• Supported by ‘innocent until proven guilty’ - representative of UK justice system
• Plato would criticise this

Question 9

Explain the quote:’Just as you muster trust your 5 ordinary senses, it is equally rational to trust your religious sense’

Answer 9

• There is an extra religious sense everyone has, you should trust this like your 5 empirical senses
• Plato would criticise this

Question 10

List the 4 main strengths to Swinburne’s principles

Answer 10

1. Transformation is lifestyle and outlook is powerful - proves it is genuine, someone has changed their life, must have meaning. see notes if unsure
2. Accounts for special considerations e.g., drugs
3. Reflects how humans have to navigate through life - we would not be able to get through life if we demanded absolute proof before accepting peoples testimony - ‘if you say…never trust appearances until it is proved that they are reliable, you will never have beliefs at all’
4. Swinburne makes an inductive argument, hence, acknowledging his method isn’t absolutely perfect

Question 11

List the 3 main criticisms to Swinburne’s principles

Answer 11

1. Dubious claim - he says normal sense experience is reliable, therefore RE is reliable for evidence for the existence of God
2. Personal testimony isn’t sufficient as absolute proof - French rationalist Denis Diderot says: ‘if the entire population of Paris was to assure him that a man has been raised from the dead, he would not believe a word of it’
3. Plato - ‘body is a source of endless trouble for us’

Question 12

Explain Sigmun Freud’s criticisms of religious experience

Answer 12

‘The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass delusions of this kind’
- Visions are at best signs of immaturity and, at worst, mental illness
- Believed that religious belief in God was a result of the infantile need for a powerful ‘father figure’
- We project on God all the fatherly characteristics

Question 13

Explain Bertrand Russel’s criticisms of religious experience

Answer 13

‘There’s no difference between someone who eats too little and sees heaven and someone who drinks too much and sees snakes’
- RE’s have physiological and psychological explorations e.g., hallucinations of eating too little
- Don’t prove God’s existence because they’re delusions

Question 14

Explain Charles Stoss’ criticisms of religious experiences

Answer 14

‘One ape’s hallucination is another ape’s religious experience’
- Apparent RE’s are misinterpretations
- Human’s wrongly interpret physiologically originating experiences as divine, as a result of social influence
- If you had a religious upbringing, you’re likely to interpret an event as a religious experience, whereas, an atheist upbringing is more likely to lead to the interpretation of a hallucination.

Question 15

Suggest 2 general criticisms to religious experiences

Answer 15

1. We only have the world of the individual
2. Only certain people have them, meaning God is guilty of favouritism (denies OB)