theme 3D impact of religious experience Flashcards
(12 cards)
1
Q
intro - impact of religious experience
A
- religious experiences are important
- they have an impact on practice and they can deepen faith
- there are ways that have a positive impact for the community and ways that have positive impact on individuals
2
Q
P1 - religious experiences are of value to the religious community
A
- the religious experience research centre, set up by Hardy, testifies to the breadth and variety of religious experiences
- these religious experiences have huge impact on the practice of many religious believers all over the world, including rituals and festivals
3
Q
P2 - impact on faith
A
- religious experiences have also had huge impact on the faith of religious believers
- personal experiences can move a person from ‘belief that’ to ‘belief in’
- religious experiences of others can also be inspiring
4
Q
P3 a source of revelation
A
- religious experiences can also be a source of revelation: the process through which God makes himself known to humanity
- eg the founders of religion have often had religious experiences (Moses)
- revelation may also be understanding events in a particular way (eg that they have spiritual significance)
5
Q
P4 affirmation of belief system
A
- religious experiences can also provide affirmation of a belief system
- eg St Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus provides confirmation that Paul has been chosen by God and given a special task, it gives him authority
- also many examples in the New Testament of religious experiences which indicate the significance of Jesus (eg angels at his birth and resurrection)
6
Q
P5 promotes faith values system
A
- religious experiences can also reveal ethical standards
- moses had a number of dramatic encounters with God, firstly at the burning bush
- these provided confirmation of the authority of Moses - he had been chosen specially by God
- moses received the Ten Commandments in another encounter with God and these have become the foundation of ethical values in Judaism and Christianity.
- likewise Jesus authority was shown through the miracles he performed and Jesus gave the ethical command to love God and love your neighbour as yourself
7
Q
P6 develops community cohesion
A
- communities come together to celebrate a past religious experience or to worship
- this can strengthen the community as it creates a greater sense of unity through fellowship
- it also helps to establish common identity and highlights a common purpose (eg through celebrations such as baptism)
- it enables communities to reaffirm their faith (eg when participating in the eucharist)
- allows individuals to share their faith, sometimes communal worship can lead to religious experience (eg pentecostal worship unites believers)
8
Q
P7 faith restoring for the individual
A
- an individual’s own experience and the testimony of others can remove doubts and restore faith
- there are different types of experiences which can strengthen faith: praying, attending services, going on a pilgrimage
- hearing about the experience of another person may lead to a renewal of one’s own faith
9
Q
P8 strengthens faith in the face of opposition
A
- a religious experience may help an individual to gain strength and faith to face a difficult situation
- it may help them to feel that God is with them (eg the pentecost)
10
Q
P9 renewing commitment to religious ideals
A
- many religions have opportunities for members to renew their commitment to their faith
- believers (adult) baptism would be a good example of this, it allows individuals to experience a renewal and strengthening of faith
- lent could also be used a an example, during this time Christians fast, pray and give. It is an opportunity to renew and demonstrate religious commitment
11
Q
religious experience is important
A
- could be argued that all religious belief and practice is religious experience, eg prayer is a key religious practice for christian’s and is a religious experience, meditation can also lead to religious experience
- religious rituals and practices, rites of passage such as baptism are also religious experiences (eg during the eucharist transubstantiation is a deeply religious experience for roman catholics)
- experiences deepen faith, when individuals have a religious experience it can affirm and deepen faith
- religious practices originate from religious experiences (eg the Eucharist is based on the last supper, christmas and easter based on the birth and resurrection of jesus
- religious experiences strengthen the community, religious practices strengthen and unify the religious community ( eg celebrating the Eucharist brings Christians together)
- religious experiences show that God is active in the world. If religious believers do not have religious experiences does it suggest that God is not really present or active in the world?
- religious experiences are more powerful when they are experienced directly by the individual rather than just hearing reports of someone else’s religious experience.
• Swinburne Principle of Credulity and Principle of Testimony
12
Q
religious experience is not important
A
- just participating in a religious activity does not mean that the individual will have a religious experience, for example an individual may say prayers in a mechanical way.
- many argue that religion is full of myths, religious practices that are based on historical religious experiences can be called into question in the 21 century, for example many doubt the fact of the resurrection and prefer to see it as a myth
- religious experiences are not necessary for belief and practice, when religious communities gather together it promotes community cohesion regardless of whether there is a religious experience or not
- rresearch has suggested that there may be other, natural explanations for religious experiences, eg: The God Helmet (could be used for both sides)
- the work of psychologists such as Freud or Jung also casts doubt on the value of religious experiences and suggests there are other explanations.
