Religious experience

Question 1

richard swinburne on religious experience

Answer 1

helps prove the existence of god

Question 2

richard swinburne

two types of religious experience

Answer 2

public
1) ordinary interpreted experiences such as the beauty of the sky
2) extraordinary experiences such as jesus walking on water
private
1) experiences describable in normal language
2) experiences that are ineffable

Question 3

richard swinburne

the principle of testimony

Answer 3

makes sense to believe what people tell you since most tell the truth
we ought to believe that things are as they seem to be, until we have evidence that we are mistaken
shouldn’t doubt other people
- too optimistic and idealistic

Question 4

richard swinburne

the principle of credulity

Answer 4

(in the absence of special considerations) the experiences of others are (probably) as they report them
trust intuition, shouldn’t doubt yourself
- some argue religion itself is a special consideration and that you are more likely to see things that arent there if you belong to a religious group.

Question 5

richard swinburne

priory probability argument

Answer 5

the probability of the existence of a cosmological god is higher than that of aliens so the likelihood should be taken seriously
- antony flew 10 leaky buckets

Question 6

william james on religious experience

Answer 6

something is real if it has real effects
we cant deny the effect of religious experiences on people so william james uses these as evidence for the existence of god

Question 7

william james

defining religious experience

Answer 7

passivity (not in control)
ineffable (cant be described in human language)
noetic (leads to greater understanding)
transient (experience is temporary)

Question 8

criticisms of william james

Answer 8

nicholas lash: experiences are about experiencing god through pattern setters
peter vardy: ‘anti realist’

Question 9

william alston

Answer 9

experiences are non sensory, god is spiritual and cannot effect people physically
- spiritual can still have physical effects eg ghosts

Question 10

kant

Answer 10

we cannot use our senses to experience god since he is in the noumenal world whereas we are stuck in the phenomenal world

Question 11

sigmund freud on religious experience

Answer 11

argument from psychology
religious experience is wish fulfilment
religion is a universal obsessional neurosis

Question 12

sigmund freud

primal horde theory

Answer 12

1) every society consists of a primal horde who gather round a dominant male
2) male inevitably killed out of jealousy
3) guilt passes down through history into peoples unconscious minds
4) males focus guilt on totem animal
5) pray to totem and sacrifice animals
6) god is ultimate totem

Question 13

sigmund freud

comparison between religion and oedipus complex

Answer 13

god acts as a replacement father figure and people turn to religion out of fear of death (displacement?)

Question 14

sigmund freud

criticisms

Answer 14

michael palmer: how does the oedipus complex apply to religious experience when people believe in multiple gods
paul vitz: using freuds logic argues that atheists are simply rejecting their father figure by not believing in god
anne marie rizzuto: not removed the illusion with religion but replaced religion with an illusion

Question 15

antony flew
vicious circle argument
(opposition to religious experience)

Answer 15

x leads to y, which in itself enforces x
a religious belief enforces a religious belief and vice versa
- doesnt account for people converting to a religion without having a religious experience
- people of one religion having religious experiences relating to a different religion

Question 16

david hume

conflicting claims argument

Answer 16

two opposing religious experiences cancel each other out and discredits them ‘a triumph for the sceptic’

• two conflicting religious experiences still leaves the possibility of one being correct
• j smart: all experiences come from the same god but are merely interpreted differently

Question 17

karl marx

the sociological argument

Answer 17

religion is a way to oppress and alienate lower classes

1) flower covered chains (oppresses but seems to comfort)
2) religion is a false sun (appears to give us clarity but does not)
3) religion is the opium of the people
4) religion is the sigh of the oppressed
- was proposed in a time where many religions were corrupt which arguably does not apply to modern world religion

Question 18

corporate experiences definition

Answer 18

experiences that happen in public places to several people, e.g. toronto blessing 1994

Question 19

corporate experiences

strengths

Answer 19

1) numerically valid

2) shows shared feelings and responses which is more valid than individual experiences

Question 20

corporate experiences

weaknesses

Answer 20

1) why would god show himself by making people laugh hysterically and bark like dogs (toronto blessing)
2) hank hanegraff
such phenomena are the result of mass hypnosis
3) william sergeant
mass religious conversions are down to conditioning

Question 21

individual experiences definition

Answer 21

the feelings, acts and experiences of individual men

Question 22

individual experiences

strengths

Answer 22

1) can be authenticated personally
2) less likely to be conditioned
3) cant be put down to mass hypnosis

Question 23

individual experiences

weaknesses

Answer 23

1) cannot be physically seen as corporate religious experiences
2) often no witnesses
3) lack of empirical evidence

Question 24

glossolalia

speaking in tongues

Answer 24

well known form of religious experience whereby people slip into an indistinguishable language, adhering to the view that such experiences are ineffable and appear possessed by god’s grace

Question 25

glossolalia

emil kraepelin

Answer 25

people that speak in tongues are schizophrenic and are unhealthy
-john kildahl: speaking in tongues is good for stress relief

Question 26

glossolalia

goodman

Answer 26

when people speak in tongues they are simply in a trance

-samarin: goodman only looked at one group in his study

Question 27

glossolalia

newburg’s study 2006

Answer 27

the experience itself is real to the person but not necessarily real in itself

Question 28

numinous experience definition

Answer 28

an indescribable experience which evokes feelings of awe, worship and fascination.
a feeling of a presence greater than yourself.

Question 29

conversion experience defintion

Answer 29

an experiences that produces a radical change in someones belief system

Question 30

mystical experience definiton

Answer 30

experiences of god or the supernatural which go beyond every day sense experience

Question 31

schleirmacher on religious experience

Answer 31

tried to identify features that make it a religious experience and whether they can ever be seen as evidence
‘religious experience should be at the heart of the faith’
‘self authenticating’
experiences should have priority and statements of belief should be formulated to fit them, catholic tradition had the authenticity the wrong way round