Varieties of Religious Experience

Description

Varieties of Religious Experiences

In this writing, the well-known philosopher and psychologist William James presents a totally new approach in studying the religious phenomenon under its various manifestations.

Even from the beginning of the book, the author makes a clear difference between the firsthand and the second hand religious experiences. As he states, religion, as a concept, no matter that it is called Christianity, Islamism or Buddhism, exists before a certain individual is born.

The religious values and concepts, as they are preserved by ancestors, are inoculated to the new generation that accepts them as they are, without analyzing them too much. This is, according to James, the so-called “second hand religious experience”, and it presents little to no interest for his study.

On the other hand, the individual experiences, the interest someone manifests for one or the other religious currents, form the subject of the writing. In determining why people are attracted of a certain manifestation of religion, the author uses the scientific approach, this being a premiere in the field.

Using different Protestant movements as example, such as the puritan Quakers, James tries to demonstrate the direct connection between the physiology of the individual and the interest or rejection of religious concepts. According to a theory he formulates, the different physical or psychological conditions an individual suffers from have a great influence on the perception this person has on religion.

The author concludes that religion does not have to be considered as inferior to science because it cannot be demonstrated by using rational arguments. On the contrary, it is the scientists’ duty to try to explain the religious experiences and manifestations with the help of the instruments specific to their work.
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