Write a note on the William James’ views on Religious Experience.

Word Count : 891

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1.    In James’ view, the spiritual value of religious experience is not undone even if we can find a psychological explanation for the experiences. He rejected the view that religious experience was the result of a repressed or perverted sexuality (Freud’s suggestion) He saw this as an attempt to discredit religion by those who started with an antipathy towards it.

2.    He did not agree that there was a single feature of religious experience that defines it, but he understood it to be “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” i.e. humans have a feeling or ‘something there’

3.    The experiences of great religious figures can set patterns for the conventional believer to study. He cites examples of ‘saintliness’ in people such as St Teresa of Avila. He shows how such Christians can be strong people who help others to progress and for people to learn from

4.    He believed that religious experience was more important than focusing on a study of religious institutions i.e. the church as these were examples of secondary religion.

James acknowledges the difficulty in defining religious experience so he proposed four criteria that he considered to be the characteristics of all religious and mystical experiences.

Ineffable – experience beyond proper description – no adequate description can be given in words. Language limitations prevent description.

Noetic – not just ‘feelings,’ but a deep and direct knowledge of God which could not have been achieved through reason alone. The ‘truth’ was revealed to them

Transient – the experience is temporary and cannot be sustained, although its effects may last a long time. It can develop and deepen with subsequent experiences and the effects can last a lifetime

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Degree : BACHELOR DEGREE PROGRAMMES
Course Name : Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Course Code : BA
Subject Name : PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Subject Code : BPYG 172
Year : 2022 2023