Philosophy module 5- Religious experience

What is a religious experience?

People who experience encounters with God which shape their beliefs and give their lives a sense of direction

What are the 3 types of religious experience?

-Mystical

-Conversion

-Corporate religious

Mystical religious experience:

-can be characterised by dramatic events e.g hearing voices or seeing visions

-person feels a sense of 'Union' with God/divinity. They have an unexplainable knowledge of spiritual truths that are beyond normal understanding. These are unexplainable.

Conversion religious experience:

The adoption of a new religious belief after having gone through a religious experience - life changing. Based on an inner experience that they believe comes from God

Corporate religious experience: + example

An experience which happens simultaneously to a number of people e.g the Toronto blessing (1994) where a whole congregation were believed to have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

What are the different interpretations of what a religious experience is? (There are 3 listed)

1) any kind of experience that happens in a religious context e.g attending a service of worship. Holds the belief that here God is in control

2) A life-changing significant event

3) when a group of people from one faith share in a religious event / practice e.g the taking of the Eucharist

The influence of religious experience:

-stories of religious experience are common in holy books, they hold a hugely impactful influence on that faith

-It causes some people to change the whole direction of their lives, adopting a vocation and sacrificing everything or changing their perspective

The influence of religious experience: impact of practises within a faith

-some religions base their doctrines and practises on previously recorded religious experiences:

-Muslims base their practise of praying 5 times a day on Muhammad's actions

-Charismatic worship is based on the events at Pentecost (Christians and Quakers)

Friedrich Schleiermacher

-18th - 19th century

-believed that the essence of religion was based on personal experience, it is not enough to just follow doctrine, religious experience should be at the heart of faith

Schleiermacher said that every person has a....

Consciousness of the divine but in many people this is obscured by other concerns. Religious people are those who are aware of and try to develop this sense of the divine

Schleiermacher on the Catholic Church and religious experience

-in the Catholic Church religious experience must be tested against church teaching before being declared genuine.

-Schleiermacher believed that religious experience was "self authenticating" , it doesn't require testing to prove its legitimacy.

-he believed that the experience should have priority and statements of belief should be made to fit these experiences, not the other way around

Examples of religious experience: *note

The below 4 examples are all examples of CONVERSION religious experience

St Paul's experience

-Paul was converting from Judaism to Christianity. On his way to Damascus he heard the voice of God calling "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?"

-Before his conversion, Paul went blind. Spiritually, Paul needed to lose his sight in order to gain it.

-he rejected his old beliefs in persecuting and executing Christians to lead a new life, as a Christian himself

-he kept his new beliefs in the face of torture and imprisonment

C.S Lewis

-As a teenager he was a determined atheist but eventually adopted theism as a result of becoming friends with J.R.R Tolkien who was a Catholic, however, he still rejected Christianity

What quote did C.S Lewis say in 1931 to mark his Change of attitude?

"I have just passed on from believing in God to believing in Christ, in Christianity."

C.S Lewis described himself as....

A 'reluctant convert' due to his attempts to persuade himself against religion

-he went on to become a lifelong convert and defender of Christianity

Nicky Cruz

Notorious 50s gang leader, met David Wilkerson, a Christian preacher who had had his own religious experience and treated him with hostility and violence

-Wilkerson continued to preach to him and spread the message of conversion. Cruz visited one of his rallies with his gang, intending to cause violence but instead Cruz felt overwhelmed by guilt and converted, praying for forgiveness

-his gang handed over their weapons and Cruz went on to become a preacher himself

William Vercera (modern example)

-a soldier who fought in Afghanistan, wrote about his conversion experience in 2016

-he stated: "when I was home and safe I would forget about God." Only relying on him in a time of need, after leaving the army he wanted to get to know God properly and change his life.

-he began parsing and attending mass regularly, renewing his ideas about faith

Stages of conversion:

-Individual is dissatisfied with their life or beliefs

-person searches for a basis on which to make a decision e.g the Bible

-there is a point of crisis: physical or emotional symptoms which include a sense of God's presence (visions, voices, etc.)

-sense of peace/joy, there is often a desire to talk about the experience

-change of direction, a new sense of purpose in life

Which two scholars take a more scientific approach to religious experience?

F.C Happold & William James

William James

19th century philosopher, wrote psychological studies on religious experience, he compared different accounts to find similarities that might add to human understanding

Quote to describe James' definition of religion: ("The feelings, acts and experiences....

...of individual men in relation to whatever they may consider divine")

-encompasses a wide range of different experiences, characterises it as a personal pursuit

William James tried to....

Look at religious experience objectively, he did not wish to prove or disprove it but instead to merely define what makes a religious experience

-he believed that they were a psychological phenomenon that may contain physical or supernatural elements. He thought they could be tested by their results.

He viewed conversion as...

A transformation from a divided and imperfect self to a more unified consciousness

-he believed people always converted towards religion, not away from it

William James Quote on conversion: "to say that a man is converted means that religious ideas...

Previously peripheral in his consciousness, now take a central place."

William James found it hard to define mystical experiences so proposed 4 criteria to characterise them, what were they?

1) Ineffable

2) Noetic

3) Transient

4) Passive

What is meant by 'ineffable'?

-mystical states must be directly experienced as a state of feeling

-It is unexplainable to someone who has not experienced it. It is entirely unique

Quotes from James to describe ineffable:

-"no adequate report of its contents can be given in words."

-"It defies expression"

What is meant by 'Noetic' ?

-Not just feelings but also a deep and direct knowledge of God, refers to 'inner knowing' or intuitive consciousness

-Noetic means purely intellectual, there is insight into religious truth with eternal significance

What is meant by 'Transient'?

-Transient means 'momentary'

-the experience is temporary but the effects last

-overtime the recipient is left with a greater sense of importance about what has been revealed, it can be imperfectly remembered

What is meant by 'passive'?

-Recipient cannot initiate or control the experience, there is a sense of powerlessness

-It is seen as a gift from God, sometimes accompanied with a spiritual gift like speaking in tongues or prosthetic speech.

-a person who has been given a spiritual gift ^ may not have any recollection after the event

William James quote to describe passivity: ("the mystic feels as if his own will were in abeyance...

...and indeed sometimes as if he were grasped and held by a superior power")

St. Teresa of Avila (an example of mystical experience)

-born in 1515, became a nun whose focus was directed at prayer and solitude, suffering as Jesus did to get closer to God

-one day she had a vision where An angel appeared and pierced her heart with a spear of fire that sent God's pure, passionate love into her soul

St. Teresa of Avila's quote about her visions: ("the soul undergoes a change...

it seems that a new, living, high degree of love is beginning."

Moses in the book of Exodus (an example of mystical experience)

-The lord is said to have spoken to Moses: " The Lord said to Moses, behold I will come to you so that the people may hear when I speak with you"

-the story of Moses and God's gift to him of the Ten Commandments is now the foundation of Judaism, we can see how mystical experience has transformed a faith that is still practised today

F.C Happold on types of mysticism (how many types does he suggest and what are they?)

Suggests we can divide mysticism into two types:

1) the mysticism of love and Union

2) the mysticism of knowledge and understanding

The mysticism of love and Union

-The longing to escape loneliness and the feeling of being 'separate'. It requires some sort of union or reunion with God

In this type of mysticism he suggests that humans have 2 urges, what are they?

To be an individual & to be accepted in some way

-Happold believes that despite our want to be individuals we are always trying to get back to God in some way, to be part of something bigger than ourselves

The mysticism of knowledge and understanding

The urge to find the secrets of the universe or the meaning of life.

-The way that we can look for answers to these ultimate questions through experience of God

As well as the 2 types of mystical experience, Happold proposes that there are 3 aspects to them as well, what are they?

1) soul-mysticism

2) Nature-mysticism

3) God-mysticism

Soul-mysticism

The process of finding the soul through mystical experience, self-fulfilment. It doesn't deal with the God of classical theism

Nature-mysticism

Found in the belief that God is imminent, he is everywhere and can therefore be united with many aspects of nature

God-mysticism

The idea that humans want to return to God, there are suggestions that the mystical union of God requires the human soul to become like God so therefore a religious experience takes place

Richard Swinburne

20th century Philosopher, Over the last 50 years Swinburne has been an influential proponent of philosophical arguments for the existence of God.

Richard Swinburne first proposed the....

Principle of Credulity

What is the principle of credulity?

Credulity= 'willingness to believe something' , it is part of an inductive argument for God's existence

-Swinburne argues that we should not doubt our own religious experiences

Quote for the principle of credulity:

"We ought to believe that things are as they seem to be, until we have evidence that we are mistaken" - Swinburne

-more complexly he argues that this is the case but only in the absence of 'special considerations.' (See next flashcard)

What does Special considerations mean and what are the examples?

-by mentioning 'special considerations' Swinburne says that not everything we experience exists, the special considerations to this include:

-if the subject has taken drugs

-If the subject has sustained a head injury

-if the subject has a history of mental disorders that involve hallucination

If none of the special considerations apply...

Then you should trust your religious experience

Why might this principle be asserted?

-This principle needs to be asserted as some atheists may be inclined to treat all religious experiences as hallucinations, even if these special considerations are not present.

-Swinburne believes that it is more economical to believe this experience is real and to believe that you've developed some strange mental disorder out of the blue

Michael Martin's criticism of the principle of credulity: negative credulity

-negative credulity is the idea that atheists don't experience God, and using the principle of credulity, they can count against gods existence

-for example, an atheist who experiences the absence of God can argue that the world is probably, as they see it, Godless. That is how it "seems to be" for them.

How does Swinburne directly respond?

-Swinburne responds by arguing that this principle only applies to positive experiences, atheists have a negative experience in regards to God

-The argument follows that: ' if you experience something, it probably exists.' It does not follow that, 'if you don't experience something, it probably doesn't exist.'

e.g I have never experienced sky diving yet I cannot say reasonably that it doesn't exist

Swinburne's next proposal is....

The principle of testimony

What is the principle of testimony?

This is the second principle of suntans argument, it is also inductive.

-it suggests that not only is it reasonable to trust your own religious experience but that it is also reasonable to trust other people's testimony about their religious experiences

Quote to describe the principle of testimony:

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

What does Swinburne mean by the special considerations here?

-we should not always believe anything that we are told by others

The principle of testimony in everyday life

Swinburne is saying that we use this testimony all the time, we believe what other people tell us, unless we have reason to doubt them.

-He believes that atheist shouldn't make a special exception when it comes to religious experiences

Rudolph Otto

Christian theologian, 19th - 20th century

-explored religious experience in his book: 'the idea of the holy'

Otto proposed the idea of...

Numinous experience

-tried to identify what made a religious experience distinctly religious rather than just an experience

-believed a personal encounter to the divine was fundamental to religion

What is a numinous experience?

-the feeling of being in the diving presence of the numen - a higher power

-difficult to define, for Otto they are at the heart of all religious experiences

-we are filled with a sense of awe and wonder, the numinous is a divine power

Quote from Otto to define numinous experience: "the distinctive experience...

Of God, at once ineffably transcendent, remote, yet stirring."

The experience may be....

Fleeting but the effects may last

How is a numinous experience different from a mystical one?

The person involved feels separate from the divine entity, in a mystical experience there is a sense of unity.

-this is why some philosophers view a numinous experience as its own type of religious experience. There are some however who believe this is present in every kind.

Otto and the Bible

Believed that many visions recorded in the Bible e.g Moses' encounter with the burning bush were numinous experiences

Latin definition for Numinous experience and its meaning:

"Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans " (fearful and fascinating mystery)

-mysterium= mystery / awe - felt but cannot be described

-Tremendum= inspiring terror in the presence of an overwhelming being

-Fascinans = glorious, compelling

How does Otto describe this quality of mystery and awe?

As "wholly other"

In the presence of the numen (divine power) Otto said that humans have certain responses: (4)

1) stupor- an "amazement absolute"

2) The Shudder- being "held speechless, trembles inwardly to the highest fibre of its being."

3) sense of unworthiness and need for covering. We may close our eyes or cover our heads to show a sign of respect

4) aware of ourselves as contingent creatures, we feel utterly inferior

What analogy does C.S Lewis use to describe the fear of a numinous experience?

Tigers and Ghosts

What does the analogy of tigers and ghosts argue:

-if you were told that there was a tiger in the next room, you would feel fear, due to the possibility of imminent danger and harm. If you were told it was a ghost you may feel fear of a different kind

-With a tiger you feel ordinary fear due to real danger but in the case of a ghost it can be argued that instead of feel we feel dread

-no one is primarily afraid of what a ghost may do to him, we fear its "uncanny" nature - it is unnatural

Continued : C.S Lewis argues that with the fear that comes with the uncanny one has reached the fringes...

Of the numinous

-the word 'dread' describes this nearly - numinous state, fear of something uncanny

-we aren't frightened because the numinous is dangerous, but because it is incomparably greater than us

Examples of Corporate religious: Pentecost

-disciples gathered together suddenly feel a violent wind blowing from heaven

-they saw flames rest on each of them

-they begin to speak in tongues, people from all countries and languages can understand them

-they are filled with the Holy Spirit

Quote from John Stott on Pentecost:

"We do not need to wait for the Holy Spirit to come: he came on the day of Pentecost. He has never left the church."

Examples of Corporate religious: Medugorje (Bosnia)

-claims of apparitions began in 1981

-there were claims of apparitions of the Virgin Mary who appeared to 6 local people since they were children

-recently Pope Francis has authorised pilgrimages there - confirming approval from the church

Examples of Corporate religious: The Toronto Blessing (1994)

January 1994

-the Holy Spirit was believed to have overcome a whole congregation

-people began laughing, growling and dancing with a sense of euphoria.

-it was believed that it was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit

What are the 3 ways in which religious experiences can be understood?

-As a union with a greater power

-A psychological interpretation

-A physiological interpretation

Religious experience: a union with a greater power

William James' interpretation of mystical experience

F.C Happold and religious experience

Psychological interpretation: Ludwig Feuerbach (19th century)

-believed that religious experience and belief have origins in the human mind rather than coming from God

-in his book 'the essence of Christianity' he argued that people simply worship their own human nature.

-Humans take the best aspects from humanity (compassion, love, etc.) and project them in order to create a God who loves and values them.

Psychological interpretation: Sigmund Freud (19th-20th century)

-Agreed with Feuerbach. Said the psyche was made up of 3 layers:

Ego- conscious self

Id- unconscious self

Super ego- conscience (inner moral voice)

-people make the mistake of thinking their inner moral voice, or conscience is the voice of God

Psychological interpretation: Donald Winnicott (19th-20th century)

-Those who cannot distinguish between illusion and reality have the "hallmarks of madness", he believed that religious experiences were illusions.

-anyone who tried to impose this belief on others were mad and everyone who accepted religious experience were a step closer to madness

A physiological interpretation: Michael Persinger

-Held a study in the 80s, studying what goes on in the brain in comparison to what is described in a religious experience when coming into contact with the divine

-it has been largely discredited but did raise the possibility that religious experiences could be explained by natural causes

A physiological interpretation: Mobbs and Watt (2011)

Studies near death experience and the feeling of detachment at the time. This was however put down to things such as the medical condition or different medications given at the time

-they argued that because of this these religious experiences near death could be described biologically through the brain

What does Hume say about the reliability of individual religious experiences?

Sometimes stories grow in detail as they're told. A person tends to add details when recalling a narrative so don't show a truly accurate account "a wise man proportions his belief to the evidence."

Karl Marx on religious experience:

It is the "opium of the people" - it is addictive

-religion is an illusion, it is irrational to worship appearances

-religion has been used as a tool of oppression