Experiencing Religion

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Religious Experience Reconsidered

Author : Ann Taves
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400830974
Total Pages : 229 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Religious Experience Reconsidered by : Ann Taves

Download or read book Religious Experience Reconsidered written by Ann Taves and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-09-28 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the sciences of the mind can advance the study of religion The essence of religion was once widely thought to be a unique form of experience that could not be explained in neurological, psychological, or sociological terms. In recent decades scholars have questioned the privileging of the idea of religious experience in the study of religion, an approach that effectively isolated the study of religion from the social and natural sciences. Religious Experience Reconsidered lays out a framework for research into religious phenomena that reclaims experience as a central concept while bridging the divide between religious studies and the sciences. Ann Taves shifts the focus from "religious experience," conceived as a fixed and stable thing, to an examination of the processes by which people attribute meaning to their experiences. She proposes a new approach that unites the study of religion with fields as diverse as neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, and psychology to better understand how these processes are incorporated into the broader cultural formations we think of as religious or spiritual. Taves addresses a series of key questions: how can we set up studies without obscuring contestations over meaning and value? What is the relationship between experience and consciousness? How can research into consciousness help us access and interpret the experiences of others? Why do people individually or collectively explain their experiences in religious terms? How can we set up studies that allow us to compare experiences across times and cultures? Religious Experience Reconsidered demonstrates how methods from the sciences can be combined with those from the humanities to advance a naturalistic understanding of the experiences that people deem religious.

Fits, Trances, and Visions

Author : Ann Taves
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691212724
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Fits, Trances, and Visions by : Ann Taves

Download or read book Fits, Trances, and Visions written by Ann Taves and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fits, trances, visions, speaking in tongues, clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences, possession. Believers have long viewed these and similar involuntary experiences as religious--as manifestations of God, the spirits, or the Christ within. Skeptics, on the other hand, have understood them as symptoms of physical disease, mental disorder, group dynamics, or other natural causes. In this sweeping work of religious and psychological history, Ann Taves explores the myriad ways in which believers and detractors interpreted these complex experiences in Anglo-American culture between the mid-eighteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Taves divides the book into three sections. In the first, ranging from 1740 to 1820, she examines the debate over trances, visions, and other involuntary experiences against the politically charged backdrop of Anglo-American evangelicalism, established churches, Enlightenment thought, and a legacy of religious warfare. In the second part, covering 1820 to 1890, she highlights the interplay between popular psychology--particularly the ideas of "animal magnetism" and mesmerism--and movements in popular religion: the disestablishment of churches, the decline of Calvinist orthodoxy, the expansion of Methodism, and the birth of new religious movements. In the third section, Taves traces the emergence of professional psychology between 1890 and 1910 and explores the implications of new ideas about the subconscious mind, hypnosis, hysteria, and dissociation for the understanding of religious experience. Throughout, Taves follows evolving debates about whether fits, trances, and visions are natural (and therefore not religious) or supernatural (and therefore religious). She pays particular attention to a third interpretation, proposed by such "mediators" as William James, according to which these experiences are natural and religious. Taves shows that ordinary people as well as educated elites debated the meaning of these experiences and reveals the importance of interactions between popular and elite culture in accounting for how people experienced religion and explained experience. Combining rich detail with clear and rigorous argument, this is a major contribution to our understanding of Protestant revivalism and the historical interplay between religion and psychology.

The Varieties of Religious Experience

Author : William James
Publisher : The Floating Press
ISBN 13 : 1877527467
Total Pages : 824 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (775 download)

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Book Synopsis The Varieties of Religious Experience by : William James

Download or read book The Varieties of Religious Experience written by William James and published by The Floating Press. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 824 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature explores the nature of religion and, in James' observation, its divorce from science when studied academically. After publication in 1902 it quickly became a canonical text of philosophy and psychology, remaining in print through the entire century. "Scientific theories are organically conditioned just as much as religious emotions are; and if we only knew the facts intimately enough, we should doubtless see 'the liver' determining the dicta of the sturdy atheist as decisively as it does those of the Methodist under conviction anxious about his soul. When it alters in one way the blood that percolates it, we get the Methodist, when in another way, we get the atheist form of mind."

Visions of Religion

Author : Stephen S. Bush
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199387419
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (993 download)

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Book Synopsis Visions of Religion by : Stephen S. Bush

Download or read book Visions of Religion written by Stephen S. Bush and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities Three understandings of the nature of religion--religion as experience, symbolic meaning, and power--have dominated scholarly discussions, in succession, for the past hundred years. Proponents of each of these three approaches have tended to downplay, ignore, or actively criticize the others. But why should the three approaches be at odds? Religion as it is practiced involves experiences, meanings, and power, so students of religion should attend to all three. Furthermore, theorists of religion should have an account that carefully conceptualizes all three aspects, without regarding any of them as more basic than the others. Visions of Religion provides just such an account. Stephen S. Bush examines influential proponents of the three visions, arguing that each approach offers substantial and lasting contributions to the study of religion, although each requires revision. Bush rehabilitates the concepts of experience and meaning, two categories that are much maligned these days. In doing so, he shows the extent to which these categories are implicated in matters of social power. As for power, the book argues that the analysis of power requires attention to meaning and experience. Visions of Religion accomplishes all this by articulating a social practical theory of religion that can account for all three aspects, even as it incorporates them into a single theoretical framework.

Handbook of Religious Experience

Author : Ralph W. Hood
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780891350941
Total Pages : 661 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (59 download)

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Book Synopsis Handbook of Religious Experience by : Ralph W. Hood

Download or read book Handbook of Religious Experience written by Ralph W. Hood and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 661 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HANDBOOK OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE is generally recognized as the classic book on the psychology of religious experience. It is the gold standard against which other books in this field are measured. This monumental volume examines in great breadth and depth the nature, roots, ecology, expressions, explanations, and facilitational modes of religious experience. Ultimately, religious experience is central since it is the source, context, and validation of all religion, all religious activities, and all theories of religion. Scripture and sacrament are basically religious experiences. Religious experience is basically the encounter with God in its highest form.

Human Relationships and the Experience of God

Author : Michael St. Clair
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1592448666
Total Pages : 111 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (924 download)

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Book Synopsis Human Relationships and the Experience of God by : Michael St. Clair

Download or read book Human Relationships and the Experience of God written by Michael St. Clair and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2004-09-15 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When people are interested in the spiritual life they are, 'de facto', saying: I deeply value relationships - relationships with themselves, others, and God. Spirituality and an appreciation of the relationships they have go hand in hand.Given this, when we turn to contemporary psychology, the school of thought which seems so naturally relevant and supportive to those interested in spiritual maturity is object relations theory. However, since this sophisticated approach to understanding the human person is quite complex in that it stands on the psychological shoulders of a great deal of previous psychoanalytic thought and practice, to mine this theoretical jewel and apply it to further the appreciation of one's own or someone else's spiritual life has been quite difficult for most people. And so, the development of a basic work on object relations theory and the spiritual life has been sorely needed.With this in mind, Michael St. Clair, the author of the widely-read and respected book 'Object Relations and Self Psychology', and a person possessing extensive theological background as well as graduate-level teaching and clinical experience in pastoral counseling and the integration of psychology and religion, was asked to prepare a book on the topic.The result is a volume that presents not only principles that are understandable and enlightening, but also psychological illustrations that offer a clear connection with religious experience. In addition, although St. Clair doesn't skirt the issues and controversies or subtle nuances that are open to question when one attempts an integration of psychology and spirituality from a particular vantage point, first and foremost this book is a practical work. In this regard it serves to be stimulating in one's reflection about the spiritual life: one's own and that of those persons who come to us for guidance.This volume provides a real service to those of us who wish to see in an intelligent way what contributions modern psychology from an object relations perspective can make to our efforts to walk honestly and faithfully with God as we walk with others.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience

Author : Carl Sagan
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101201835
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis The Varieties of Scientific Experience by : Carl Sagan

Download or read book The Varieties of Scientific Experience written by Carl Sagan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-11-02 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Ann Druyan has unearthed a treasure. It is a treasure of reason, compassion, and scientific awe. It should be the next book you read.” —Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith “A stunningly valuable legacy left to all of us by a great human being. I miss him so.” —Kurt Vonnegut Carl Sagan's prophetic vision of the tragic resurgence of fundamentalism and the hope-filled potential of the next great development in human spirituality The late great astronomer and astrophysicist describes his personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos. Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing short of astounding, Sagan presents his views on a wide range of topics, including the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets, creationism and so-called intelligent design, and a new concept of science as "informed worship." Originally presented at the centennial celebration of the famous Gifford Lectures in Scotland in 1985 but never published, this book offers a unique encounter with one of the most remarkable minds of the twentieth century.

Religious Experience

Author : Craig Martin
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317545699
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Religious Experience by : Craig Martin

Download or read book Religious Experience written by Craig Martin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many regard religious experience as the essence of religion, arguing that narratives might be created and rituals invented but that these are always secondary to the original experience itself. However, the concept of "experience" has come under increasing fire from a range of critics and theorists. This Reader presents writings from both those who assume the existence and possible universality of religious experience and those who question the very rhetoric of "experience". Bringing together both classic and contemporary writings, the Reader showcases differing disciplinary approaches to the study of religious experience: philosophy, literary and cultural theory, history, psychology, anthropology; feminist theory; as well as writings from within religious studies. The essays are structured into pairs, with each essay separately introduced with information on its historical and intellectual context. The ultimate aim of the Reader is to enable students to explore religious experience as rhetoric created to authorize social identities. The book will be an invaluable introduction to the key ideas and approaches for students of Religion, as well as Sociology and Anthropology. CONTRIBUTORS: Robert Desjarlais, Diana Eck, William James, Craig Martin, Russell T. McCutcheon, Wayne Proudfoot, Robert Sharf, Ann Taves, Charles Taylor, Joachim Wach, Joan Wallach Scott, Raymond Williams

Women's Religious Experience (RLE Women and Religion)

Author : Pat Holden
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317590252
Total Pages : 245 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Women's Religious Experience (RLE Women and Religion) by : Pat Holden

Download or read book Women's Religious Experience (RLE Women and Religion) written by Pat Holden and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-10-03 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of the early literature concerning women’s religious experience is about exceptional women; those who diverged from the traditional female role to become nuns, mystics or charismatic leaders. While women were permitted to be prophets and visionaries they rarely played an important part in church organisation. This paradox is explored in this book and a number of themes emerge: in particular, the dominance of male symbolism within the great religions. The question of whether men and women apprehend religious systems and signs in the same way is also explored. In considering the contemporary scene, the book is able to look at the ways in which religion affects the lives of women in different societies and in different historical periods; this gives us a larger view of the ways in which our own perceptions of ‘femaleness’ have been constructed out of the religious world views of both the past and the present. First Published in 1983.

Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience

Author : Jonathan D. Sarna
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780268016562
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (165 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience by : Jonathan D. Sarna

Download or read book Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience written by Jonathan D. Sarna and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text focuses on what it means to be Jewish in America and the different positions held within the Jewish community on past and present church-state issues - whether Orthodox Jews in the military should wear yarmulkes while in uniform - and if Jewish prisoners have a right to Kosher food.

Religious Experience

Author : Wayne Proudfoot
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520908503
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis Religious Experience by : Wayne Proudfoot

Download or read book Religious Experience written by Wayne Proudfoot and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1987-09-14 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How is religious experience to be identified, described, analyzed and explained? Is it independent of concepts, beliefs, and practices? How can we account for its authority? Under what conditions might a person identify his or her experience as religious? Wayne Proudfoot shows that concepts, beliefs, and linguistic practices are presupposed by the rules governing this identification of an experience as religious. Some of these characteristics can be understood by attending to the conditions of experience, among which are beliefs about how experience is to be explained.

Experience of the Sacred

Author : Sumner B. Twiss
Publisher : UPNE
ISBN 13 : 9780874515305
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (153 download)

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Book Synopsis Experience of the Sacred by : Sumner B. Twiss

Download or read book Experience of the Sacred written by Sumner B. Twiss and published by UPNE. This book was released on 1992 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique and highly accessible anthology of the best in classical and contemporary thought on the phenomenonology of religion.

Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience

Author : John H. McClendon III
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004332219
Total Pages : 411 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience by : John H. McClendon III

Download or read book Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience written by John H. McClendon III and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-07-03 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most white philosophers of religion generally presume that philosophy of religion is based on what is a false universality; whereby the white/Western experience is paradigmatic of humanity at-large. The fact remains that Howard Thurman, James H. Cone and William R. Jones, among others, have produced a substantial amount of theological work quite worthy of consideration by philosophers of religion. Yet this corpus of thought is not reflected in the scholarly literature that constitutes the main body of philosophy of religion. Neglect and ignorance of African American Studies is widespread in the academy. By including chapters on Thurman, Cone and Jones, the present book functions as a corrective to this scholarly lacuna.

The Psychology of Religion

Author : Walter Houston Clark
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781258447519
Total Pages : 500 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (475 download)

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Book Synopsis The Psychology of Religion by : Walter Houston Clark

Download or read book The Psychology of Religion written by Walter Houston Clark and published by . This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Religion, Spirituality and the Near-Death Experience

Author : Mark Fox
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134442785
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion, Spirituality and the Near-Death Experience by : Mark Fox

Download or read book Religion, Spirituality and the Near-Death Experience written by Mark Fox and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-12-16 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dramatic and sustained response to decades of research into near-death experiences (NDEs) is the first book to credibly bridge the gap between the competing factions of science and spirituality. Neither a religious argument touting NDEs as hard evidence for God, nor a scientific rebuke to religious interpretations, it balances investigation of these much-reported yet baffling phenomena, and brings fresh urgency to the study of our hopes for a life beyond.

The Varieties of Religious Experience

Author : William James
Publisher : Modern Library
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 652 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Varieties of Religious Experience by : William James

Download or read book The Varieties of Religious Experience written by William James and published by Modern Library. This book was released on 1999-05-11 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Being the Gifford lectures on natural religion delivered at Edinburgh in 1901-1902."

The Neuroscience of Religious Experience

Author : Patrick McNamara
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139483560
Total Pages : 319 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis The Neuroscience of Religious Experience by : Patrick McNamara

Download or read book The Neuroscience of Religious Experience written by Patrick McNamara and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-06 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technical advances in the life and medical sciences have revolutionised our understanding of the brain, while the emerging disciplines of social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience continue to reveal the connections of the higher cognitive functions and emotional states associated with religious experience to underlying brain states. At the same time, a host of developing theories in psychology and anthropology posit evolutionary explanations for the ubiquity and persistence of religious beliefs and the reports of religious experiences across human cultures, while gesturing toward physical bases for these behaviours. What is missing from this literature is a strong voice speaking to these behavioural and social scientists - as well as to the intellectually curious in the religious studies community - from the perspective of a brain scientist.