Religious Experience

Open Access Article

1 - Religious Experience and Perceiving God; A Critical Evaluation of Alston’s Theory
بابک عباسی

In his magnum opus Perceiving God, William Alston has tried to showthat one can be justified in believing some religious beliefs on thegrounds of some religious experiences. According to his theory, thosereligious experiences which have -phenomenologically- perceptualch More

In his magnum opus Perceiving God, William Alston has tried to showthat one can be justified in believing some religious beliefs on thegrounds of some religious experiences. According to his theory, thosereligious experiences which have -phenomenologically- perceptualcharacters are entitled to play the role of ground for some other beliefs.This paper examines some of the main criticisms of this view, as wellas Alston's replies to them. Evaluating the arguments of two sides ofthe debate, the author puts forward his comments and criticism. It hasbeen finally concluded that as far as Alston's arguments are concernedhis main claim remains under question. Manuscript profile

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2 - What Is Religious Empiricism?
بابک عباسی

“Religious experience”, in its broadest sense, is either an innerexperience or an objective event that has religious meaning for thesubject. In philosophy of religion, however, a narrower meaning of theterm is at issue: an experience taken by the subject as More

“Religious experience”, in its broadest sense, is either an innerexperience or an objective event that has religious meaning for thesubject. In philosophy of religion, however, a narrower meaning of theterm is at issue: an experience taken by the subject as experientialawareness of God; in which one directly perceives the presence of God(or a divine being). Religious empiricism is an approach which tries tojustify or reconstruct religious beliefs on the ground of “religiousexperience”. In this paper, after a short review on the historicalbackground of this attitude, I will propose two different meanings forreligious empiricism. Then, considering Schleiermacher's and James'sviews, I will discuss religious empiricism in its contemporary andperhaps most important formulation developed by Swinburne andAlston. Religious empiricism could be understood as a religiousreaction to the criticism of religion in the modern time. It tries to stayand act within the framework of modern philosophy that emphasizes onthe significance of experience. In their intellectual efforts, theadvocates of this stream have expanded the boundaries of the notion ofexperience. On the other hand, “religious experience” has a differentmeaning and function for each of aforementioned philosophers. So, toevaluate this approach we need to understand these differences indepth. Manuscript profile

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3 - An Introduction to Some of the Most Important Principles and Theories of Religious Pluralism
Abolfazl Ebrahimi

In the modern and philosophy of religion, there are two generalapproaches, namely religious pluralism and unificationism, each ofthem has its own epistemological, linguistic and religious principleswhich have made them different and distinguished.In this article we cons More

In the modern and philosophy of religion, there are two generalapproaches, namely religious pluralism and unificationism, each ofthem has its own epistemological, linguistic and religious principleswhich have made them different and distinguished.In this article we consider some of the most important principlesand theories of religious pluralism and attempt to answer thesequestions: Is the difference and plurality of religions inherent andrealistic or superficial and formal? What is the nature of suchdifferences and plurality? Is it possible to establish agreement or atleast some understanding among religions or not? Finally we come tothe conclusion that the most important difference between religions isthe distinction of their epistemological and linguistic principles.Because of this difference, the single source of all religiousexperiences, the Absolute Reality or the Sacred, seems plural andmultiple; as a consequence, It takes different shapes and forms.Nevertheless, the Absolute Reality could be perceived as a commonelement of different religions and It can establish agreement andunderstanding among them. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - Religious Experience According to Yung
جواد Firoozi زینت Hosseini Daneshvar

Religious Experience simply means to encounter with the Holy or with a transcendent being. Manifested within individuals, this aspect of religion(s) related to the specific rituals of a certain religion. This kind of experience helps man release from suffering and diffi More

Religious Experience simply means to encounter with the Holy or with a transcendent being. Manifested within individuals, this aspect of religion(s) related to the specific rituals of a certain religion. This kind of experience helps man release from suffering and difficulties and enables him to resist unwilling situations. One’s cognitive system, thus, may survive inside a secure shelter. William James is the first scholar to use the term, while Yung furthered the inherited concept in the 20th century. According to Yung, religion is based on the sacred experience or Numinous and means surrender to a higher power. Rooted in the collective unconscious which in turn contains archetypes, religious beliefs and dogmas are believed to be the outer manifestation of the inner part of our psyche, derived from within the experience of any certain religion. Manuscript profile

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5 - Religion and the Experience of the Holy from the Point of View of Mircea Eliade
Mehdi Lakzaei

Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) was one of the most outstanding scholars on religious studies, mythology and symbolism. He wrote a number of important works on subjects such as yoga and shamanism, morphology and general types of religious experience. He also had some importan More

Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) was one of the most outstanding scholars on religious studies, mythology and symbolism. He wrote a number of important works on subjects such as yoga and shamanism, morphology and general types of religious experience. He also had some important theories on the Holy and special function of religion. In his view, bringing about of the encounter of man and the Holy is the main function of religion and religious rituals as a whole. Religion helps man to recognize manifestations of the Holy in nature and History. Primitive man had a special talent in discovering the Holy in nature, so much so that for him all nature was the mainfestation of the Holy, while for the Hebrews it was manifested in history rather than nature. In this view, the Holy shows himself in the ups and downs of history, which in turn brings about considerable consequences.  Manuscript profile

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6 - Study of Ruzbihan’s Revelations by Using William James Analysis Model
Farhad Farzi Abdolreza Mazaheri Enshalah Rahmati

In Islamic mysticism, revelation has been and is an important issue. When the mystic, as a result of the purification of the soul and the austerity instilled in him by the mentor and the old man, attains positions and authorities, he has in fact made revelations. Ruzbih More

In Islamic mysticism, revelation has been and is an important issue. When the mystic, as a result of the purification of the soul and the austerity instilled in him by the mentor and the old man, attains positions and authorities, he has in fact made revelations. Ruzbihan Baqli is one of the great mystics of the sixth century AH, who is undoubtedly one of the two tendencies in Islamic Sufism, which known for two obvious tendencies in Islamic Sufism known as drunkenness and awareness (or in the words of Hafiz Masti and Masturi), Ruzbihan is undoubtedly in the first one. New perspectives on religion and religious beliefs and the emergence of new topics and issues in this regard have long been on the attracted religious thinkers, including the discussion of religious experience. William James considers religion to be the effects, feelings, and events that occur to every human being in loneliness, and considers emotions to be the inherent concept of religion. In his view, religious experience is the essence of religion, in the sense that the truth of religion is the feelings and emotions that arise in man when confronted with the ultimate truth, and other matters, such as the beliefs of deeds and rituals, are later than this experience. The present survey, after dealing with Ruzbihan's revelations, will examine whether Ruzbihan’s revelations can be analyzed according to the model of William James, and if so, what the commonalities and differences between Ruzbihan’s revelations (mystical experience) and religious experience of existence are and what the characteristics of religious experience and mystical experience from the point of view of William James are also, whether the four characteristics that William James put forward in connection with mystical experiences apply to Ruzbihan's revelations. The method of the present study is descriptive-analytical and the method of data collection is library method and books, articles and software are used and also the data collection tool is note taking. Manuscript profile

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7 - A study and analysis of the concept of religious experience in the works of Theodore Dostoevsky With an approach to the novels "Crime and Punishment" and "Karamazov Brothers"
azade hoseiniy ARASTOO MIRANI mohammadali mir

In his works, Dostoevsky reflects on his religious experiences and describes most of his doctrinal and ideological views in them. Thus, the subjects the author deals with, as well as the characters he creates, are all used to explain his religious beliefs. Religious exp More

In his works, Dostoevsky reflects on his religious experiences and describes most of his doctrinal and ideological views in them. Thus, the subjects the author deals with, as well as the characters he creates, are all used to explain his religious beliefs. Religious experience comes in many forms, but a look at the novels Crime and Punishment and The Karamazov Brothers shows that Dostoevsky was only interested in its interpretive nature. His interpretive experience was created by two external factors (invitation to Christianity by his grandfather and monks) and internal (solitude with himself in prison in his youth). He first learned this interpretive experience in an imitative and traditional way, but later demonstrated it in the form of representations of critical and challenging ideas. He visibly recognized the shortcomings of the church as the main institution of religion in Russia, and based on his interpretive experience, addressed them in the language of a figure named Pavlovich. Dostoevsky's goal was not destructive and stemming from psychological entanglements, but to justify such criticisms in order to improve the beliefs and religious conditions of the people. This article has been compiled with reference to library sources and descriptive-analytical method and it deals with the basic issue of how Dostoevsky's religious experiences evolved in the mentioned novels. The main question of the research is what is the most important religious experience of Dostoevsky in these two novels? Manuscript profile

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8 - Mystical Expereinces in the Ghazals of Attār: A Revew Based on Willam James' Theory
homayon jamshidyan leila norozpor motahare chobine

According to William James, mystical experiences have four characteristics: ineffability, noetic quality, transiency and passivity; these marks can be found in almost all texts that narrates mystical experiences. In the present article, those ghazals of Āttār that indic More

According to William James, mystical experiences have four characteristics: ineffability, noetic quality, transiency and passivity; these marks can be found in almost all texts that narrates mystical experiences. In the present article, those ghazals of Āttār that indicate mystical experiences have been extracted, categorized and analyzed. Also, in these poems, some other marks such as heterogeneous imaginations of mystical intuition and missing the mystic have been found. The results of the research show that after coming face to face with the Holy, the mystic is unable to explain Him; for everyone comprehends Him by his/her own way. The mystic misses himself/herself in the process of revelation; after facing the Holy, also, he claims that he/she knows himself/herself much better, and sometimes he/she claims that has obtained knowledge of the outer world. The reports about this knowledge, like the relation of part to whole and the fact that the part contains all of components of the whole, show that there are a lot of similarities between them and the subjects of holography. The mystic complains that facing with the Holy is transient. During the experience, he is passive and there is a profound sense of being taken over.   Manuscript profile

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9 - the role of religious experiences in predicthng social problem solving
Leila Rashidbeigi Farideh Yousefi

the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of religious experiences in predicting social problem solving. Four hundred and sixteen students who studied in MA level at Shiraz University were selected using multistage cluster sampling. The participants compl More

the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of religious experiences in predicting social problem solving. Four hundred and sixteen students who studied in MA level at Shiraz University were selected using multistage cluster sampling. The participants completed the Religious Fundamentalism-Revised Questionnaire (RF-R) (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004), the Quest scale (Batson & Schoenrade, 1991) and the Social Problem Solving inventory-Revised Short Form (SPS-R:SF) (D’Zurilla, Nezu,&Maydeu-Olivares, 2002). The data were analyzed using multiple regression (stepwise method). The results indicated that self-criticism (one dimension of the quest) was the positive and significant predictor of positive problem solving orientation. Self-criticism and complexity were the positive and significant predictors of rational problem solving. Moreover, the fundamentalism was the positive and significant predictor of negative problem solving orientation, and tolerance was the negative and significant predictor of negative problem orientation. The regression analysis indicated that tolerance, fundamentalism and selfcriticism significantly predicted impulsive/avoidance problem solving style The findings suggested that the religious experience may play an important role in social problem solving styles Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

10 - The Theory of Dialogical Self and its Place Concerning Religious Experience
قدرت الله قربانی Pegah Jamshidi

Hubert Hermans and Kempen formed the core of the Dialogical Self theory. According to Hermans, the Dialogical Self as a psychological-cultural concept and ability significantly impacts the course of conversation. We intend to examine the place of this flow in religious More

Hubert Hermans and Kempen formed the core of the Dialogical Self theory. According to Hermans, the Dialogical Self as a psychological-cultural concept and ability significantly impacts the course of conversation. We intend to examine the place of this flow in religious experience. This flow considers the world within the individual among the experiences of different religions as a community of relatively independent situations as an imaginary landscape based on the outside world. The Dialogical Self theory pays attention to imagined situations from a position beyond and overlooking them. despite the existence of the conditions affecting the dialogue of religions, the existence of an unconditional acceptance in the approach of pluralism, Credibility, and the issue of imposition in connection with a supposed religious experience, the Dialogical Self-theory, while taking into account and focusing on my experience and that of others, it can have a more comfortable and convincing acceptance of what I have experienced and what could be experienced. Also, considering the indirect conditions affecting religious experience, it can imagine more detailed, complex, and realistic religious situations and analyze them from a more comprehensive perspective. This theory, first place, can have a more realistic confrontation with the ambiguous and complicated experience attributed to the truth of religion in the individual. Second, we can relate religious identities to different situations within a person. The third case is its effect on the flourishing of a person's spiritual capacity. Manuscript profile

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