Religious experience

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE:

The nature of religious experience and the influence of religious experience and the influence of religious experience including:

  • mystical experiences

    • examples of mystical experiences, such as St Theresa

    • Views on these examples

  • conversion experience

    • examples of conversion experiences, such as Saul’s conversion in Acts

    • views on these examples

  • how examples are categorised into types

    • views about what these types should consist of

    • including the views and main conclusions of William James

DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH INDIVIDUAL RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES CAN BE UNDERSTOOD

  • as union with greater power

  • psychological effect such as illusion

  • the product of physiological effect

THERE IS A WIDE VARIETY OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES:

  • Mystical experiences: used to describe experience of direct contact or oneness with God or ultimate reality

  • Numinous experiences: used to describe experiences of awe and wonder in the presence of God

  • Corporate experiences: used to describe religious experiences that happen to a number of people at once in the same location

  • visions and voices: visions used to describe experience of God or another religious figure appearing with a message. Voices - used to describe experience of hearing God or another religious figure, or having a conversation with them.

4 TYPES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES:

  1. Most are visions and or auditions, e.g: seeing the Virgin Mary or hearing the voice of God. However, many reject these are experienced through our eyes and ears, they are more ‘experiences by the soul’ but not through the physical eyes or ears.

  2. Gaining knowledge of something in a non-intellectual way is the second type of religious experience, this is know as different ways of knowing such as a revelation, enlightenment, etc.

  3. Sensory experiences of ordinary objects, but for those having a religious experience there is extra information about some supramundane reality. Everyone could see the same thing, but only those who gained ‘knowledge’ would have the religious experience.

  4. The fourth type is described as mystical, noetic, numinous, ineffable and is the focus of many investigations, especially by Otto & James.

UNDERSTANDING RELIGION: A THEMATIC APPROACH - MOOJAN MOMEN

Three features apply to the phenomenon of religious experience

Universality - Numerous surveys have consistently shown that even in the highly secularised societies of North America and Europe, a large proportion of the population have had what they describe as religious experiences. The proportion approaches one hundred per cent in traditional societies.

Diversity - Religious experience is unique for each individual. Religions may attempt to impose a uniformity of doctrine or of action upon their followers, but each person's religious experiences, when taken as a whole, will be different to those of another person.

Importance - Religious experience is almost invariably very important to the individual to whom it occurs, in a way that other experiences usually are not. A religious experience can result in change in the way that individuals think about themselves, a complete alteration of lifestyle, or a reorganisation of the individual's conceptual world.

FOUR MARKS OF MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES

William James argues that there are four ‘marks’ of mystical religious experiences:

  1. Ineffability: that the experiencer finds it very difficult to put their experience into words. In many accounts of mystical experiences, we read the words ‘I cannot express what took place.’

  2. Noetic quality: that when the mystic unites with God, they become aware of truths not previously known.

  3. Transiency: the experience is over quickly.

  4. Passivity: the experiencer has no control over the experience, it happens to them and they are unable to stop it.

THE NUMINOUS:

Otto believes the Numinous is an experience that underlines all religion

It has three components: mysterium, tremendum et fascinans

  • Mysterium: ‘wholly other’ entirely different from anything we experience in ordinary life. It evokes a reaction of silence.

  • Tremendum: it provokes terror because it presents itself as overwhelming power.

  • Fascinans: as merciful and gracious with charm or ability to fascinate

MYSTERIUM TREMEDNUM ET FASCINANS - fearful and fascinating mystery

  • Mysterium: Wholly Other, experienced with blank wonder, stupor

  • "tremendum": awefulness, terror, demonic dread, awe, absolute unapproachability, "wrath" of God overpoweringness, majesty, might, sense of one's own nothingness in contrast to its power creature-feeling, sense of objective presence, dependence energy, urgency, will, vitality

    "fascinans": potent charm, attractiveness in spite of fear, terror, etc.