Religious Experience

Question 1

Characteristics of religious experience

Answer 1

Passivity
Ineffable
Noetic quality
Transiet

Question 2

Passivity

Answer 2

The idea that the person having the religious experience is not taking the leading role; they are being ‘acted upon’.

Question 3

Ineffable

Answer 3

Unable to be expressed or described in words, beyond description

Question 4

Noetic quality

Answer 4

Having the property of imparting knowledge

Question 5

Transient

Answer 5

An event that passes with time, temporary

Question 6

James’ key principles of RE

Answer 6

Pragmatism, Empiricism, Pluralism

Question 7

Pragmatism

Answer 7

A philosophical movement that argues that a theory must be treated as true if it works in practice.
James is pragmatic in terms of his understanding of truth. Truth is not something that is fixed but rather whatever has value for us and works in real life.

Question 8

Empiricism

Answer 8

The idea that observations via our senses lead us to understanding of the world.
James says although we cannot empirically verify RE, the result is empirical data.

Question 9

Pluralism

Answer 9

The idea in religion that truth is to be found in many faiths.
James said that RE may be interpreted differently depending on our views and belief system but if they produce positive effects then they are in some sense true.

Question 10

Mystical experience

Answer 10

A direct experience of God or ultimate reality, a sense of oneness of all things.

Question 11

Happlod on mysticism

Answer 11

Mystics understand this world as only part of ultimate reality - the world comes from “Divine Ground”
This “Divine Ground” can be known intuitively but not rationally
We are made of ‘ego’ and ‘eternal self’ - eternal self = divine spark which allows us to connect with deeper truths
Our purpose is to discover our true ‘eternal self’ and unite with “Divine Ground”

Question 12

St Teresa of Avila

Answer 12

Argues that experiences should be subject to tests to determine whether they are genuine.
Test = is there a positive change? were they left at peace or disturbed? does the experience fit the church’s teachings?

‘I saw Christ at my side, or to put it better, I was conscious of Him, for neither with the eyes of the body or the soul did I see anything’

Question 13

Numinous experience

Answer 13

An experience of awe and wonder in the presence of an almighty God

Question 14

Otto on numinous experience

Answer 14

Describes them as: mysterious, tremendous and terrifying, fascinating and compelling.
Argues that all RE are numinous.
It is debated whether numinous experiences are different or just a type of mystical experience.

Question 15

Conversion

Answer 15

An experience which causes a sudden or gradual change in someone’s belief system.

Question 16

William James on conversion

Answer 16

Conversion of energy: conversion involves someone altering their beliefs/way of life. In religious conversion, religious beliefs and identity come to be at the centre of a person’s consciousness.
Psychology: There is undoubtedly a psychological explanation of conversion, but this need not be the whole explanation.
‘To say that a man is ‘converted’ means in theses terms that religious ideas, previously peripheral in his consciousness, now take a central place’

Question 17

Swinburne’s case for RE

Answer 17

Principle of Credulity - should accept what appears to be the case unless there is good evidence against the experience
Principle of Testimony - in the absence of evidence against, we should rely on the reports that we hear

Question 18

Peter Vardy’s challenge

Answer 18

Some people believe to have encountered UFOs
Before accepting the accounts, it is reasonable to seek additional information to clarify, e.g. radar evidence, meteorological reports.
These are reasonable precautions to take before accepting an unusual event and could apply to religious experiences.

Question 19

Response to James + Swinburne

Answer 19

Religious experiences are private, not empirical - in an individual’s mind - unwise to give them the benefit of the doubt
Difference between ‘feeling certain’ and ‘being right’ (Arsenal football example)- their claim is subjective
Experiences are interpreted differently by different faiths

Question 20

Ludwig Feuerbach

Answer 20

Psychological argument
Argued that the idea of God is a human projection.
All attributes of God are in our nature, they are human aspirations or desires.
We create God in our image. ‘God is man written in large letters .’

Question 21

Sigmund Freud

Answer 21

Believed that humans’ religious behaviour was a neurosis caused by childhood insecurities and the desire for a father figure to protect us.
REs are hallucinations that have a simple psychological explanation.
Just as dreams are caused by deep desires we are unaware of
REs are also the product of our subconscious and are caused by the desire for security and meaning.

Question 22

Carl Gustav Jung

Answer 22

Accepted the reality of numinous experiences and argued that the development of the spiritual aspect of us was essential to psychological wholeness.
He claimed that each of us has the archetype (idea) of God within us a shared collective unconscious.

Question 23

Challenge of physiology

Answer 23

Some scientists suggest that there is a neuropsychological mechanism that underlies religious experience.
They refer to the ‘causal operator’ and the ‘holistic operator’ within the brain.
These seem to show up on the brain scans done on meditating Buddhist monks.

Question 24

Counter to physiology

Answer 24

Physical dimension to RE need not lead us to reject the experience completely.
All experiences can be reduced to neurological blips that show up on brain scans yet we don’t doubt the reality of objects we see.
Our brains could be wired to experience God

Question 25

Difficulties of interpretation

Answer 25

REs tend to be described in terms of people’s prior religious faith Eg a Catholic may interpret their experience as caused by the Virgin Mary, whereas a Hindu is unlikely to give this explanation

Question 26

Counter to difficulties of interpretation

Answer 26

All our experiences are interpretations. Whatever happens to us, we describe it in our own way. This does not logically mean that the event you are describing is false.

Question 27

Immanuel Kant

Answer 27

Kant argued that our senses can only experience things in the empirical realm which Kant refers to as phenomena. There may be a reality beyond our experience (noumena) but is impossible for us to experience it as a matter of logic.

Question 28

William Alston

Answer 28

Argues that religious experience is similar to our normal sensory perception. There may be an aspect of our human minds that is able to experience God.

Question 29

C.D. Broad

Answer 29

Gave an interesting analogy of a society of blind people where some evolve the capacity to see. Those who were still blind would be sceptical of the information given by those who could now see.

Question 30

Strengths of Freud

Answer 30

Founder of psychoanalysis Fundamental in the development of dreams, mind (id, ego and superego) and conscious, subconscious, unconscious (iceberg) ideas Clear that parents/environment affect our morals and ethical ideas

Question 31

Weaknesses of Freud

Answer 31

Flaws in his data collection eg unethical/unscientific: Little Hans What about child from single-parent or modern families- Freud implies they are immoral = illogical Don’t people have more control over their actions and decisions? Is this bordering on reductionist

Question 32

Karl Marx

Answer 32

Religion gives false meaning to the empty lives of the downtrodden It is the ‘opiate of the people’ Spiritual alienation arises from socio-economic deprivation Religious activity masks economic inequality, giving false illusions of fulfilment