The Argument from Religious Experience

What is a religious experience?

1. An experience with religious significance. E.g. the act of worship in a religious setting
2. A person’s experience of something or a presence beyond themselves.

Richard Swinburne’s 5 types of religious experience

Public

1.      A normal event interpreted in a religious way e.g. seeing the face of the Virgin Mary on the moon.

2.      Witnessing a very unusual event with others e.g. the resurrection of Jesus.

Private

3.      A private experience which may be explained using normal language e.g. the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary.

4.      A private experience which may not be described using normal language e.g. mysticism.

5.      An ongoing impression of a presence based upon no specific experience just a sense that God is guiding one’s life.

William James’ varieties of religious experience

James in his book, ‘The Varieties of Religious Experience’ categorised the types of experiences that cannot be described by normal language into 4 types:

Ineffable – They are so extraordinary that they cannot be described in a way that would make them intelligible to anyone who has not had such an experience.

Noetic – These experiences provide some kind of insight or carry a message of revelation of truth.

Transient – Such experiences are brief; they do not last more than half an hour.

Passive – These are experiences which cannot be actively sought or created. Often people describe their bodies being ‘taken over’ by a superior presence.

He concluded that religious experiences could range from those that had little religious significance to those that were completely life changing. James noted that the most religious experiences happened when a person was in a conscience state, rather then in a dream state.

He kept an open mind about claims of religious experience. However, he accepted that some religious experiences could have been that result of the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Other explanations for religious experience

Freud – saw religious experience as a reaction to the hostile world. We feel helpless and seek a father figure in our lives – thus, we create a God who is able to provide us with security. However, even if people do need a father figure, this does not mean that God does not exist. Thus experiences of God are not negated.

Karl Marx – saw religion as an illusion, something which blurred our vision of reality. He described religion as “the opium of the people”, it is a drug which dulls the pain of everyday life and alters our consciousness and perception. Mystical experiences are therefore the outward manifestations of this drug induced state.