Religious Experience: An Introduction

What is a religious experience?

The term 'religious experience' can conjure up a wide and diverse range of images. We might assume that it can mean anything from saying a prayer, to attending a service at a place of worship, to 'hearing the voice of God.' Nicholas Lash does not see religious experience as any different to an ordinary experience, as he argues that there is only experience being interpreted in different ways.

The liberal, German theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher was well known for tackling the theological problems raised by the Enlightenment. He claimed that, "A religious experience offers a sense of the ultimate and an awareness of wholeness, a consciousness of the infinite and an absolute feeling of dependence." This means that religious experiences have four characteristics: an awareness of God's presence e.g) numinous experience feeling complete and satisfied e.g) mystical experience understanding that there is nothing greater e.g) numinous experience feeling like the experience fulfils a need that cannot be satisfied anywhere else

Definition of religious experience non-empirical (outside of natural senses), may be perceived as supernatural described as a mental event, which is undergone by an individual, and of which that person is aware experience can be spontaneous, or it may be brought about as a result of intensive training and self-discipline recipients of religious experience usually say that what happened to them has 'drawn them into' a deeper knowledge or awareness of God the experience itself is not a substitute for the divine, but a vehicle used to bring people closer to the divine the individual experience is unique and cannot be compared with others a genuine religious experience looks to be encouraging, so they do not condemn the individual, but help them live a better life, or help others, etc. defy laws of nature and science difficult to explain, prove or describe

A more compact definition...A religious experience is an awareness of something bigger than ourselves that brings peace and has the power to change how people live their lives.A few more points worthy of note: Religious experiences are often described as 'phenomena', which means they are out of the ordinary. There is no strict criteria for what a religious experience is, as they are all very different to one another. Revision NotesMore Detailed Notes

How important is religious experience?

For many people throughout history, the strongest demonstration of evidence for the existence of God comes from personal experience. The biggest figures in terms of conversion within Christianity and islam include Paul and Muhammad (pbuh). However, it is not just famous people or figures from history who have religious experiences; ordinary people have religious experiences which have a lasting and dramatic effect on them. In order to identify whether religious experiences can be used as arguments for the existence of God, we must first consider what people mean by religious experience and secondly identify the cause/origins.

Martin Buber Buber (1878-1965) viewed religious experience as being analogous to intimate personal relationships with that he called 'I-Thou' relationships. This differs from the 'I-it' relationships that we have with objects or when we treat people as objects. The 'I-Thou' relationship is a mutual interaction. We may experience such 'I-Thou' relationships when we encounter nature, in deep friendships and most importantly, by experiencing God.

Classification of Religious Experience

Forms: Miracles - unexplainable event that defies the law of nature and science (includes; natural, healing, resurrection and exorcism) Visions - seeing something more than the eyes can physically register Voices - linked with prayer, hearing something more than the ears can physically register Conversion - giving your life to God, feeling like you're called to do something Prayer - sometimes a feeling that God is listening/speaking to you

Types: Corporate experiences - large group of people experiencing the same thing simultaneously in the same location Numinous experiences - feeling of awe in the presence of God e.g) walking into the Vatican or Sistine chapel, or seeing the Grand Canyon Mystical experiences - somewhat magical, used to describe the feeling of direct contact or oneness with God or ultimate reality

Generally, we can divide religious experiences into two groups: direct and indirect.Direct Experience These refer to cases where a person encounters God in a direct way. In Acts 9:1-9, 22:6-10 and 26:12-18, Paul describes his religious experience. He meets a risen Jesus, who directly communicates with him, and reveals himself to him. The experience is not willed or chosen by the person. Rudolph Otto argued that a central element of direct experiences of God was an 'apprehension of the wholly other.' What he meant by this was that the world is beyond the physically observable universe, as he described the 'wholly other' as numinous. Otto therefore refers to direct experiences of God as being completely outside of our possible knowledge and experience. Otto also noticed that people who have religious experiences describe them using words like 'awe' and 'wonder', but the actual nature of the experience was 'ineffable' (beyond human powers and abilities to fully describe and communicate.')

Indirect Experience Indirect religious experiences refer to experiences, thoughts or feelings about God that are prompted by events in daily life. e.g) observing a sunrise and having thoughts about God as the creator. Acts of prayer and feeling God's presence are seen as indirect religious experiences as God is not directly revealed in person, nor is knowledge of God revealed; instead the person learns something about God through what is observed. "For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us." - St Teresa of Avila Indirect religious experiences are more intimate, and about building a relationship with God. Which is better to prove God's existence? We are more likely to believe direct religious experiences as being genuine, but they are less common. There are more cases of indirect religious experiences, which are often unseen, happening privately or inside a person's emotions or mind.

Oxford scholar, Caroline Franks Davis identifies in her book, The Evidental Force of Religious Experience, seven different types of religious experience: Awareness experience - Seeing God's work when looking at creation, AKA natural revelation e.g.) Psalm 8:1-9 Quasi-sensory experience - Having a perceived vision or inherent visual or audible experience from God e.g) Ezekiel 47:1-14, Joseph Smith's 'first vision' Numinous experience - A sense of overwhelming awe leading to the feeling of being in the presence of the holiness of God e.g) Neil Armstrong walking on the moon Interpretative experience - Having experienced the things that one has prayed for come into fruition (being answered) e.g) Lourdes Regenerative experience - An experience leading to an overwhelming compulsion to convert e.g) Nicky Cruz Mystical experience - Having a sense of the ultimate reality and a spiritual unity with God e.g) Augustine Revelatory experience - Receiving enlightenment and knowledge from God AKA natural and special revelation

Are religious experiences genuine?

You could argue that a religious experience is often a personal experience that cannot be quantifiably proved by the laws of nature and science. Much like the existence of God, religious experience cannot be objectively proved to exist or not. You could also argue that we're not supposed to know if people have had religious experiences or not, because it is a test of our faith. Also, it is an individual experience often, which cannot be expressed or explicitly shared completely with anyone, so it is futile to think that religious experiences can be shared in this way, and fully understood by the other person. Religious experiences are often down to your own interpretation of them - what would be a religious experience to one person wouldn't be for another.

Has any research been done?David Hay's book Religious Experience Today present some of the findings of the Religious Experience Research Unit. These findings, based on a random sampling of the public, include: 31% of British people and 35% of Americans have had an experience that they might consider religious. These experiences often last for a few seconds, but can last much longer. They generally give awareness that there is more to reality than this physical world. They can produce change in both behaviour and attitudes - including a sense of altruism, (feeling of something more than just us) increased self-esteem and purpose.

What these findings show: Britain and America are relatively low on religious experiences compared with countries which are going through emotional and psychological trauma, as it is believed that they have nothing else in their lives to look forward to or to pursue. Americans probably have a higher rate of religious experience because religion forms more a basis for them. Light at the end of the tunnel is a classic example of a seconds long religious experience. This awareness of something other than the physical reality changes your perspective on life, and often people who have religious experiences are breaking the law, down on their luck or ardently searching for it.

Prior Probability

There has been reported experiences of the Loch Ness monster and UFOs and aliens, as well as God. Which of these experiences can be accepted? The theory of prior probability states that if the existence of the Loch Ness monster or UFOs is highly improbable, then you are less likely to believe it. However, Swinburne argued that the existence of God was highly probable, as each argument for the existence of God made his existence more likely. (Although it doesn't conclusively prove it.)

Analogies to Explain Religious Experience

The Winnie the Pooh Analogy

Winnie the Pooh often relied on experience in his honey eating; he was only satisfied that a particular honey pot was empty when he had eaten all of the honey. However, experience can be mistaken - Pooh and Piglet once saw footprints in the snow and falsely believed that they were being followed by a dangerous animal. Based on this story, can religious experience be good enough evidence for the existence of God? Perhaps there is a gap between experience and reality. Take for example the analogy of straight sticks looking bent when placed in water - perhaps there is a gap between what we sense and what is actually happening.

The Blind Girl by John Everett Millais

This painting depicts a blind woman who is only able to experience the feel of her daughter's hair and the sound of music, but not see the rainbow behind her. Does this mean that like the blind woman, there is an ultimate reality (God) that we are unable to experience because of our bodies? Kant believed that we needed senses to experience God, but we do not have this kind of senses to experience God, as he belongs in the noumenal realm. Kant concludes that because God is not an object located in space and time, we cannot experience him.

Richard Swinburne

Richard Swinburne made the distinction between two different types of religious experience:Private experiences Private experiences are not observable to anyone other than the person having the experience. This includes the experiences which are both describable in normal language, as well as the mystical, ineffable ones. Private experiences can also be no specific experience, such as when the whole of a believer's life is seen with a religious perspective; seeing the intricacy of God's design. Nothing appears to conclude that they are experiencing God, but they are left with a strong sense of an encounter with 'The Holy.' Experiences describable in normal language may include dreams. e.g) Joseph's dream of God telling him to flee to Egypt Ineffable experiences are often where God has directly revealed himself to an individual.

Public experiences Public experiences are observable by everyone. These include ordinary, interpreted experiences, as well as extraordinary ones. Ordinary experiences are often numinous, as a believer sees an everyday event and sees it as having religious significance. e.g) when the beauty of nature reveals God's love/power Extraordinary experiences appear to defy the understandings of nature and science. e.g) Jesus walking on water, feeding of the 5000

Quotes about Religious Experience

"A religious experience involves some kind of perception of the invisible world, or a perception that some visible person or thing is the manifestation of the invisible world." - Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience of Mankind (Hindu) "A religious experience is a feeling of 'ultimate concern', a feeling that demands a decisive decision from the recipient. It is an encounter followed by a special understanding of its religious significance." - Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology "Religious experience without religious reflection is blind, every claim to have experienced God requires examination... Christianity has no concept of religious experiences that do not have doctrinal or ethical consequences or do not involve a human purpose." - S. Fergusen and D. Wright, The New Dictionary of Theology

"God reveals himself to people on a personal level as they experience him in life and in the world... Everyday simple human relationships are 'I-it' relationships; however, meaningful relationships go deeper, they are 'I-Thou'. God is the 'Eternal Thou.'" - Martin Buber, I and Thou "Religious experiences draw on the common range of emotions, happiness, fear and wonder - but they are directed at the divine." - William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience "The argument from personal experience is one that is most convincing to those who claim to have had one. But it is the least convincing to anyone else, especially anyone knowledgeable about psychology." - Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Modern Ideas of Religious Experiences

David Hay, Inner Space, (1987) Following research by Alister Hardy and The Religious Experience Research Unit at Oxford, Hay claimed that 25-45% of people in Britain say that they have been made aware of a presence or power beyond themselves. This suggests experiences of things beyond the ordinary. The experience is wholly beyond the experience of the ordinary. Often it is not possible to explain the experience. The experience is not common to everyone. There are cultural influences in describing the experiences. Religious experiences are subjective, whereas most experiences are objective. It is difficult to check a person's claims regarding a religious experience. Some people believe that such an experience can only happen if God allows it - God appears to be selective.

Caroline Franks Davis Religious experience is 'something akin to a sensory experience.' It is perceived through signs similar to those that we receive through encounters with other human beings. From the signs that we receive in a religious experience, we arrive at a sense of spiritual reality. The person can usually note that the experience happened at a particular time.

Soren Kierkegaard Kierkegaard was interested in the truths relevant to an individual's life - 'the truth for me'. Kierkegaard wanted to set up the individual against the 'system', emphasising the humanity of the individual. He believed that religious experience was a matter of personal commitment. He saw the experience as depending on the 'leap of faith' - the person must make a decision, a risk. There is little room for rationalising the experience. The leap of faith is basically irrational! The knowledge of God would depend on: The level of personal faith - whether the faith is 'blind' or informed by theological understanding. The nature of that faith - whether the believer is a Muslim, a Jew, or whatever. The commitment of the believer - whether the person is a devout believer or a 'Sunday Christian.' (Kierkegaard was particularly critical of the 'Sunday Christians', the Danish Lutherans who drifted to church every Sunday but had little faith commitment.

Paul TillichTillich argued for two components to a religious experience: Being itself - There is no encounter with empirical elements. These elements would normally provide you with the information that you would need to explain what you are experiencing (e.g. taste, smell, etc.) Rather, the encounter is with more than the mere physical sensation. It is with reality itself. Therefore, the encounter might involve everyday sensations, but the person derives a sense of the divine from the encounter. Ultimate concern - Encounters cause us to 'take stock' to a greater or lesser extent. Fleeting contact with a stranger makes little impact, while an encounter with a close personal friend might inspire far more profound concern in us. Tillich proposed a scale of concerns; superficial, important and essential. For an experience to be religious, it must inspire, 'ultimate concern.'

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