Religious Experience

1. Religious Experience

2. Section 1 The Common Features of Religious Experiences

3. Universality - All communities report occurrences of religious experiences. This is by no means restricted to what we might consider to be ‘primitive’ or traditional societies; many people in North America and Europe report experiences of a religious nature. Diversity - Religious experiences are not uniform - they differ for individuals in the same community. Those who are part of the same believing community may attempt to apply the same cultural driven theology or doctrinal spin after the event, however, this does not take away the uniqueness of the experience. Importance - Religious Experiences are extremely important to the individuals who have them. Often they are life changing, others may find them symptomatic of a religious life that brings greater maturity, spiritual depth and peace. The religious experience can, as Moojen Momen says, “lead to a complete change in the way individuals think about themselves, a complete alteration in lifestyle, or a reorganisation of the individual’s conceptual world.” Rudolf Otto in his book The Idea of the Holy describes religious experiences as: Mysterium trememdum et fascinans By this he meant: Mysterium stresses the unknowability of the Holy. It is ‘other’ to human beings: transcendent and beyond our bounds of knowledge. Trememdum indicates the deep awe generated in the recipient by the Holy. It is overpowering and overwhelming, far bigger than any human experience could be. Fascinans is used to describe the pull that the experiencee feels form the Holy and is thus unable to drag itself away. In the case of mystics, the individual returns for lengthier and more revealing experiences. The Common Features of Religious Experience

4. The Generally Agreed Features of Religious Experience are: • It is an intense and energising experience that is important and demands attention. • The experience is liberating as it transcends the boundaries and demands of the physical world. • It brings peace, awe, joy, dread, exultation and exhilaration. (Naturally these need not all be experienced at once.) • The experience will give the recipient knowledge or insight into their faith. This can be hard to quantify, specify or articulate, however, the inward confirmation of faith is what is important to the recipient. • Time may appear to stop and space can become distorted. This often occurs in deep meditation where the meditator can be oblivious to external factors of any kind. • The experience will generally be seen as authoritative if it leads to personal growth, change and alteration in lifestyle or way of thinking. The idea of mission and vocation can be very important in some experiences.

5. Section 2 What Types of Religious Experience Are There?

6. This type of experience occurs when an individual believes they have come into contact with a greater reality. This coming into contact will give the recipient the following things: A real sense of personal renewal. A power in their lives that had not been previously experienced. Other people will notice a change in lifestyle, behaviour and thought processes. Moojen Momen gives three subcategories of Regenerative experience: Confirming Experiences - These experiences occur in those rediscovering or deepening their own faith. This would include born again Christians or Muslims who discover a new sense of commitment. Commissioning Experiences - These could be called Vocative experiences as they often involve an element of ‘calling’, e,g, the call to be a religious leader. Alternatively, the recipient could adopt a whole new way of life. Conversion Experiences - these are explore in detail over the next three slides. RegenerativeExperiences

7. Conversion is essentially the shift between one worldview and another more satisfactory worldview. In a religious context this could mean a an individual shifting from one faith to another; from no faith to a new faith; changing denomination or simply rediscovering an old religious position. This requires a great deal of courage and strength on the part of the convert. They are demonstrating trust that their new worldview will compensate for what was missing in their old understandings and provide with them with greater personal stability and peace. There are many factors that can bring conversion about: Some are social, some psychological and others intellectual: Marginality - If someone is feeling excluded from society then a new religion or worldview may be attractive as it offers security and belonging not previously experienced. Social or cultural crisis - If a person’s way of life is under threat or collapsing they may find a new form of belief offers a way of making sense and then overcoming these cultural deficiencies. Individual crises - A marriage breakdown, bereavement or even betrayal by an authority figure may lead to the need for new coping mechanisms offered by another worldview. Individual Background- Those with emotional trauma in childhood or adolescence (or have an emotional upset prior to conversion) often see a new worldview as a positive personal move to help overcome and deal with their issues. Friendship Networks - Those non-religious people who live amongst trusted family and friends who are religious will often find conversion facilitated by the warmth and security the presence of friends brings. This bond between believer and convert can establish the conversion as permanent. Charismatic Attraction - Many converts find the energy and personal charisma of a speaker, event or group leader draw them into a faith community. Encapsulation - Some religious movements move people away from their families in order to establish a greater bond between the convert and the group which will lead to a greater commitment to the new faith. Intellectual Dissatisfaction - If an individual finds that their present worldview fails to make sense or deal with their questions productively, then they may begin reading about or seeking a new way of thinking. Over time, the new worldview makes more sense and so replaces the old. Conversion Experiences - Reasons for Conversion

8. The process of conversion is unique to each individual. Some may go through a long and agonising process of torment, wrestling with their consciences and suffering physical pain. Others may convert in one emotional evening whilst attending a rally, whereas others will change their worldview based on a lengthy period of intellectual though and personal discovery. The degree of change in the person will vary radically based on the type of conversion - some will last longer than others. For example, the lengthy process involved in the intellectual conversion is much more likely to see a long term change on the individual than the more shallow, emotionally driven conversion of a revivalist. You should ask three questions about each type of conversion: Which comes first: Belief or participation ion the believing community? Is the conversion primarily emotional, social or religious? How long is the conversion likely to last? John Lofland and Norman Skonovd give Six Types of Conversion Process: Intellectual - The intense study of religion which leads to the adoption of that belief system. The belief precedes participation. Mystical - This is the Road to Damascus type of conversion. It is often associated with dreams and visions and occurs suddenly and often dramatically. Experimental - This is where a person takes part in a community over time, this familiarity leads to hem gradually adopting the faith as it shows itself to ‘work’. Affectional - A person in this situation would be drawn in and loved by a group who would give them a sense of belonging and security. This is in itself enough to bring about some conversions. Revivalist - The emotionally charged atmosphere of the meeting is the stimulus that provides the convert with the energy and desire to convert. In these circumstances the speaker and the crowd create a mood which heavily influences the convert. The process is instantaneous and so lacks the theological ort intellectual depth of other conversion experiences. Coercive - This rare form of conversion is commonly referred to as ‘brain-washing’ or ‘thought-programming’. The convert ceases to feel loyalty to the group / sect once the coercive pressure are removed. ConversionExperiences - The Process of Conversion

9. Charismatic experiences happen to those who participate actively in the religious life of a community. The experience itself is created through the individual becoming excited or exhilarated by a speaker, music, rhythmic dancing or repetitive chanting. This continued movement can eventually result in an altered state of consciousness. All religious communities have those who undergo charismatic experiences. Christianity has had an enormous growth in charismatic groups over the last half century. Also, Islamic Sufis and Hindu Sadhus will seek religious experiences through charismatic means. Moojen Momen describes the Charismatic’s experience thus: “This experience makes those involved feel that a gift has been bestowed upon them. This gift may include a feeling of being in a wider life and a sense of elation and joy as the sense of self and attachment to the world is abandoned. There is inner equilibrium and calm. ‘Typically this gift gives its recipient the ability to heal, drive out evil spirits, speak in tongues, and perform other miracles or wonders. The receipt of this gift is often marked by trance or ecstasy.” The Phenomenon of Religion Charismatic Experiences

10. Mysticism is a specialist aspect of religious experience and those who become professional mystics are characterised by their religiosity and devotion to their disciplined task. A mystic attempts to communicate with God directly through discipline of the mind and strong internal focus on divine matters. The mystic uses prayer, meditation and deep contemplation to reach an altered state of consciousness wherein they will encounter a transcendent reality much greater than they are. This reality may be referred to as ‘God’ however you will see William James’s categories of mystical experience suggest that mystical experience is ineffable and thus impossible to definitively articulate. Mystics go through a period of training and learning whereby they use the cultic practices and rituals of their faith as ways of accessing a deeper state of mind and higher levels of being. Mystics are generally firmly rooted within a distinctive religious or theological tradition, however, the earthly praxis is transcended in the experience that opens the door to a greater and ethereal illumination. We will be studying mysticism in the context of the Islamic Sufi community. William James characterises Mystical Experience in the following ways: Ineffability - The experience is indescribable through conventional means of communication. Noetic - The experience gives insight and knowledge to the recipient of the experience. Transient - The experience is short lived (though it will increase in duration as the mystic becomes more proficient and experienced.) Passivity - The recipient feels caught in the grip of a greater power. From the Nature and Varieties of Religious Experience Mystical Experiences

11. Section 3 The Mediators of Religious Experience -What might a person do or use to have a religious experience?

12. Religious Experiences very rarely ‘just happen’. Something is needed to trigger them; in the case of a conversion it could be a personal crisis, for a mystic a system of complex meditation or for a charismatic the swaying and chanting of a worship. The following list is taken from Moojen Momen’s book The Phenomenon of Religion and is designed to operate as a guide to how people might pursue their experiential path. Most religious people will use a combination of these methods, though not necessarily simultaneously, few will rely on just one. Be sure to consider the types of experience generated form each method and also the affect on the person’s intellectual and spiritual development. Do bear in mind which you think would bring about a genuine religious experience rather than a neuro-psychological / emotional experience. (By religious experience I would broadly suggest one which has an encounter with something transcendent of the phenomenal world / supra-natural.) Remember that the religious experience can be felt dramatically by the recipient (in the case of a vision) or simply, as in prayer. Some religious cultures will use artefacts, others ceremonies, others use mental powers and others may use music or dance. All are striving to achieve a certain end, namely to sense the divine. It is this fact that is central to the religious experiences - the being there - not the vehicle itself. 1. Scripture, Chanting and Recital - As the scriptures of the world’s religions are central to their faith, it should come as no surprise to learn that they ;lie at the heart of many adherent’s experiences. The metaphor, stories and teachings contained in scripture is crucial to understanding and faith development of believers. By reading and sharing in the poetry and the messages faith is experienced internally and lives change - however slightly - with that experience. The chanting and reciting of the scriptures is also important for many believers. Muslims chant the holy language of the Qur’an, Jews the Hebrew of the Torah, Sufis use scriptural chanting as an invocation to trance. The power of the word is enough to create a different level of consciousness for participants who, through the repetitive power of chant, often reach a focused (sometimes trancelike) state of mind. The Mediators of Religious Experience

13. 2. Ritual - This is the primary means of access to most believers. By performing a ritual, such as Holy Communion, many believers find this the way to a higher level of being. This reinforces the communal religious experience and allows the individual to invoke the sacred. 3. Prayer, Fasting and Other Austere Acts - This aspect of the religious life is common to all religions. Such acts allow the individual to become focused on their faith and channel their energies into a deepening of knowledge and experience. Prayer can be both spontaneous and ritualised (in the case of the Sufi Dhikr it is a constant in the life of the believer) and thus is a highly individualised experience for many believers. Fasting as an expression of denial and purification is important to many religious believers (though declining in Western Christianity) and again this allows religious focus to be actualised in divine experience. 4. Meditation and Altered States of Consciousness - These techniques abound in mystical traditions, especially in Buddhism and Christianity (the Sufis are ergotrophic in their meditation). The mystical method(see Evelyn Underhill) will include controlled breathing, focus on images / icons, repetitive chanting which all will - ideally - allow the person to move to a higher level of being. The mediator is the technique employed to get to the experience itself, in no way should the mediator replace the experience. 5. The performance of the Religious Professional - The charismatic leader can create an atmosphere that moves and shapes people, causing them to be stirred and reach enormous levels of emotional involvement. This can be seen in trances, healings, speaking in tongues et. The Mediators of Religious Experience

14. The Mediators of Religious Experience 6. Unity and Fellowship - A body of people can create a significant effect whereby their closeness, unified focus and collective emotion can drive them to greater focus and higher levels of religious experience. 7. Nature - All traditions see nature as an inspiration for their poetry and religious contemplation. Examples can be found in sacred writing, religious poetry and art. 8. Dreams and Visions - A vision is actually the experience itself, e.g. seeing the Virgin Mary is the actual experience that would be related to other believers. The Dream, on the other hand, often requires further interpretation or contextualisation after it has occurred.Moojen Momen points to two types of Dream: The first is Veridical in that it comes true and has provided real guidance in an individual’s life. The second type is the revelatory picture for mankind in general - such as the apocalyptic visions of St John the Divine in the Book of Revelation.