Spiritual, religious, sacred, or mystical experiences may be broadly defined as subjective human experiences that appear to the person undergoing them, or to others, to convey or imply contact with or knowledge about a transcendent power, presence, or superior reality beyond the realm of the physical.
Research has shown that these forms of awareness of 'something beyond' are of considerable significance in the ordinary lives of very many people, as well as being elements of signal importance in the origin and development of religion: not least by deepening characteristically spiritual or religious attitudes, emotions, beliefs, values and practices, along with fundamental orientations of life and quests for meaning.
This Studyguide provides a succinct and lucid introduction to the subject for those studying and teaching religion at both undergraduate and GCE AS/A level. By exploring the key areas of both the empirical and theoretical study of religious and spiritual experience, the Studyguide will serve as an accessible and nonpartisan guide to enable its readers to explore the range of challenging data, debates, approaches, and issues that relate to the study of this widespread and significant phenomenon.
Introduction vii
Acknowledgements xiii
Part 1 Definitions 1
1. Defining the Terms: Experience, Religious Experience, Spiritual Experience 3
Part 2 Data 17
2. The Characterization, Classification and Reporting of Religious and Spiritual Experiences 19
3. Qualitative and Quantitative Research 27
4. Categories of Religious and Spiritual Experiences: From Mysticism to NDEs 37
Part 3 Debates 55
5. Experience and Experiences 57
6. Triggers and Facilitators 67
7. Experience and Fruits 75
8. Experience and Interpretation 83
9. Objectivity and Veridicality 103
10. Evidence and Argument 115
11. Challenges of Diversity and Naturalistic Explanations 123
12. Religious Experience and Religious Language 135
13. Religious Experience and Revelation 148
14. Gender Issues 162
Part 4 Disciplines, Doubters and Defenders 169
15. The Psychology of Religious and Spiritual Experience 171
16. Religious and Spiritual Experience in Scripture 179
17. Religious and Spiritual Experience in the Christian Tradition 193
18. The Theology of Religious and Spiritual Experience 205
19. The Philosophy of Religious and Spiritual Experience 216
20. The Anthropology and Sociology of Religious and
Spiritual Experience 226
Appendix: Religious and Spiritual Experiences and Neuroscience 244
References 247
Index of Subjects 273
Index of Names 299
