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the value of religion
lies in its ability to produce positive outcomes in people’s lives
the two temperaments
a conflict b/twn individuals’ ideal selves & their actual selves characterized by “healthy-mindedness” or “morbid-mindedness”
the divided self
the conflict b/twn the person’s ideal self and actual self, people turn to religious experience to reconcile this division & find a sense of true harmony
what kind of religious theorist was james
substantive theorist
james’ definition of religion
the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine
healthy-mindedness
optimistic personality, tendency to see the good in things, exclude evil from their field of vision
sick soul
uneasiness and anxiety, there is something uneasy/not quite right about humanness; for some it is brief but for others its a way of life
conversion
the process by which the self that is divided becomes unified because of religion, religion becomes the “habitual center” of the individual’s personal energy
saintliness
the saintly character is the character for which spiritual emotions are the habitual center of personal energy
religion being the habitual center of personal energy
can be intellectual and/or emotional, power can be personified as God or an abstract moral ideal, belief in the benevolent continuity of that power in our human lives and a willingness to surrender to that power, shift in the emotional center towards loving others
characteristic practical consequences of the conditions of saintliness
asceticism: trying to live a simple life, abstinence from worldly powers
strength of the soul: inward tranquility and a peace that gives people the power to face challenges in life
purity: we do our nest to live w/o contamination
charity: helping where we see a need
mysticism
spiritual or religious knowledge can be gained from becoming one with or sincerely understanding a higher power
4 qualities of mystical experience
ineffable: inability to fully describe the experience to others, making them inherently personal
noetic: there’s a strong sense of gaining a genuine, unmediated insight
transient: short-lived, not ongoing
passive: the experience is entirely controlled by the higher power
how does james support his claims?
pragmatism: what we call the truth of our ideas and beliefs must be measured in terms of their value, or usefulness, to the individual who embraces them
supports his claim that religious beliefs are fluid/changeable and should be based on their usefulness to believers
ideas must be replaced when they are no longer useful
james’ substantive theory of religion
not only in mysticism, but in all religious experience, there is a real and personal truth to be found in a continuous engagement “with a wider self through which saving experiences come”
