Unit 2 - The nature and influence of religious experience
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Summary A level Religious Studies Edexcel: Religious Experiences
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Unit 2 - The nature and influence of religious experience
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PEARSON (PEARSON)
These notes helped me to achieve an A* and summarises the following:
- basics of religious experiences
- different types of religious experiences
- examples of religious experiences
- views of key philosophers on religious experiences
- criticisms of religious experiences
- strengths of r...
Unit 2 - The nature and influence of religious experience
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Religious Experiences
Essay link for 30 marker: Christianity, Nature of God- God wants to
reveal himself to humanity so he can have a personal relationship
with us
What is a religious experience?
An encounter with the divine
A non-empirical occurrence that brings with it an awareness of something beyond
ourselves
How do believers see a religious experience and what does St Teresa of Avila say?
Religious experiences are the most convincing proof of God
“God establishes himself in the interior of this soul in such a way, that when I return
to myself, it is wholly impossible for me to doubt that I have been in God and God in
me.”
What are the two basic groups?
Direct- the person feels in contact with God
Indirect- the person has an inner experience of God’s action in creation, displaying
his immanence
What did Caroline Frank Davis suggest?
In ‘The Evidential Force of Religious Experience’ she identified 7 types of
experiences:
Awareness- seeing the work of God
Quasi (sensory)- having a vision/ other inner experience
Numinous- encountering the holiness of God
Regenerative- a conversion experience
Interpretative- having prayers answered
Mystical- a sense of ultimate reality
Religious Experiences 1
, Revelatory- receiving enlightenment and knowledge
What did Andrew Greeley discover?
He discovered some common themes amongst experiences:
A feeling of deep inner peace
Certainty that everything will turn out for the good
A sense of need to help others
A belief that love is at the centre of eveything
A sense of joy
A great emotional intensity
What is a popular example of a religious experience in the Bible?
Saul of Taurus, who was instrumental in the formation of the Christian religion. He
had a conversion experience and went from persecuting Christians, to becoming
one.
It is convincing due to the effect it caused and the fact his experience contained
several classic features. However, many say there is evidence here and elsewhere
in the Bible that St Paul suffered from epilepsy, so his experience could have been
an epileptic fit.
Explain mystical experiences and James’ views
A mystical experience is one in which the experient becomes at one with ultimate
reality/ God/ the transcendent.
This fascinated William James who said such experiences have four core
components:
1. Passive- the experience can't be controlled
2. Ineffable- cannot be described in ordinary language
3. Noetic- believer gains some knowledge
4. Transitory- the experience is momentary, although the effects are long lasting.
James draws on psychology and neuroscience and accepts that experiences are
psychological phenomena, but says this doesn't mean experiences can be just that.
Religious Experiences 2
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