Religious Experiences are in the Mind of the Believer Essays

In an effort to explain the meanings and differences that exist between spirituality, theology and psychology, the author

Although not the first scholar to examine the idea of religion, Jones utilizes the concept from the study of Self Psychology in order to determine if “transformative religious experience is mature or unhealthy” (Jones 2002). In chapter 5 of his text, Jones

Religious experiences are experiences we have of the divine or God. These experiences may be Mystical experiences, conversion experiences or revelatory experiences. Paul Tillich states that religious experience is a feeling of ‘ultimate concern’, a feeling that demands a decisive decision from the one receiving it. He describes it as an encounter followed by a special understanding of its religious significance.

Which parts of the brain can produce a religious-like experience(s). Explain and name the different parts of the brain and what kind of experiences might be produced.

Chapters three, four, five and six of World Views by Ninian Smart speaks to the duality of religion in the dimensions of experimental, mystic, doctrinal and ethical. In the realm of experimental she uses two examples. One being the Roman Catholic Church and the other being the Buddhist religion. Throughout this essay I will use these two examples while addressing the experimental, mystic, doctrinal and ethical dimensions.

Lecture 19, aptly titled ‘Other Characteristics’, deals with a wide variety of subject matter, including institutional religion, prayer and the relationship between religion and the subconscious. In terms of organized religion, James states that room must be given for personal religious experience, as it is insufficient to provide adequate converts on its own. Prayer is deemed a fundamental aspect of practice utilised by those throughout the centuries who have had direct religious experiences. In summarizing his series in the final lecture, James expressed the need for toleration of religious diversity and allowance for individuals to pursue their course: ‘some men have the completer experience and the higher vocation, here just as in the social world; but for each man to stay in his own experience, whate’er it be, and for others to tolerate him there, is surely best’. This is necessary because the intellectual underpinning is that there is something wrong with us and that this can be rectified by ‘making the proper connection with the higher powers’. For this reason, a higher value must be given to experience and feeling over thought. In terms of trying to make sense of how this union with God takes place in a scientific context, James argues that the subconscious serves as a conduit through which ‘the further limits of our being plunge, it seems to me, into an altogether other dimension of existence from the sensible and merely “understandable” world’. For James, religious experiences are a reality although they cannot be satisfactorily explained in wholly philosophical or scientific terms: ‘The only thing that it unequivocally testifies to is that we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find our greatest

In the book ‘the varieties of religious experience’, James concluded that religious experience testifies that “we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find our greatest peace”.  He defined such experiences as “experiences of the divine” and believed that religious experience was at the heart of religion. For James, religious teachings, practices and attitudes are second hand religion, which later develop as individuals reflect on their common experience. It is the actual experiences that directly point to God. However this theory does little to prove religious experiences simply because many of his claims do not stand up to critical analysis.

Although Katz does not deny the existence of mystical experiences, he suggests that there is no scientific evidence upon which to classify and categorize experiences. Katz uses constructivism to argue his analyses. The concept of constructivism maintains, “people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences” (Educational Broadcasting Corporation). Moreover, Katz suggests, “all experience is processed through, organized by and makes itself available to us in extremely complex epistemological ways” (Katz, 26). Essentially, Katz insists that people do not have mystical experiences that differ from their spiritual or religious beliefs and practices. Katz states, “…in order to understand mysticism it is not just a question of studying the reports of the mystics after the experimental event but of acknowledging that the experience itself as well as the form in which it is reported is shaped by the concepts which the mystic brings to, and which shape his experience” (Katz, 26). For Katz, this argument denies claims of mystical experiences any reliability. Therefore, one may question how

In William James’ 1902 book “The Varieties of Religious Experience” he opens with depicting the approach of his review. He clarifies that it would be of little advantage to construct the examination with respect to regular people who have bound religious encounters and emulate customs which have been passed on to them. Rather, he centers the review around 'religious virtuosos '. In addition, as he clarifies in his second address, the attention must be on individual religious experience instead of corporate, in light of the fact that it is more central. Actually, it is out of the extreme encounters of a little few that most religious developments (or "factions" as he terms them) have created. Part 3 builds up that individuals appear to have the ability to encounter the concealed furthermore an inclination to see it as being more genuine than things seen, listened, touched or tasted.

Religion is a guideline for social conduct; additionally one may conclude of the gospel, and superstitious practices are the closest perceptible occurrence humans can term ‘magic. ' There are several definitions of the word religion because no one seems concise. One proper definition, according to Merriam-Webster, is “Religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). One might think that this distinguishing definition is most suitable for the purpose of this assignment. This paper will discuss the interviews of three different people who associate themselves with a particular religion. Hiawatha Macomb, Maxine Hawthorne, and Christian X will answer questions about their beliefs concerning religion, spirituality, faith, and perceptions about religion. In brief, the participants will have honest discussions about their beliefs in God and the supernatural.

Moreover, Durkheim compares religion to society. He says that society is the cause of the unique sensations of the religious experiences, so called “sui generis” (Ritzer, 84). This concept

Some believe there are two ways of interpreting the religious proposition of mysticism. One is the indirect experience of God. It takes the form of reported mystical experiences, which are believed to be the experiences of the foundations for what a mystical experience is all about. The other is the intellectual aspect. Individuals believe that as a result of the mystical experience, a better knowing and revelations are attained from the mystical experience.

Joshua 1:9; "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

For example, William James studied religious experience and suggested that the spiritual process works to curtail people's negative behaviors (James, 1936). For James, spirituality helps individuals recognize their own earthly suffering as either a consequence of individual pathology or addictive behavior, or both. When people begin to criticize or consciously reject problematic individual behaviors as a permanent way of being, then they become open to the possibility of rising to a higher awareness. This higher awareness of his or her own behavior is then integrated as a part of the person's psychology. James was already considering the role religion plays in a person's consciousness early in the twentieth century.

The numinous religious experience is connected to acknowledging the fact that there is a supreme power above oneself and that this power makes us insignificant in comparison. For example, in Christianity when Christians pray they are acknowledging the existence of the supreme power above them, God. Also, when Christians read the Bible they are interpreting the words of the supreme power above them as a guide to be more like God. A numinous religious experience can be described as being a mysterious spiritual awareness of something which surpasses comprehension and understanding. Meanwhile, the mystical religious experience is the complete opposite. In the mystical religious experience one acknowledges that there is not a supreme power