Introduction to Religious Experience
Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 1.6.1
Introduction to Religious Experience
Many people claim to have directly or indirectly experienced God in some way. Research by Alister Hardy has shown that between 25-45% of adults have had an experience of a presence or power beyond themselves.
Perceiving God publicly
- Richard Swinburne has given a schema to fit the different kinds of religious experience into (they vary considerably). A person can seem to perceive God publicly:
- In experiencing a normal non-religious object (eg. a sunset).
- In experiencing an unusual public object (eg. Jesus’ resurrection appearances).
Perceiving God privately
- A person can seem to perceive God privately:
- In private sensations describable in normal language (eg. Jacob’s ladder dream).
- In private sensations not describable in normal language (eg. mystical experiences).
- Without any sensations, but seeing the whole course of experience in the light of God or being unable to point to any particular thing that made them seem to be experiencing God.
Test yourself on Introduction to Religious Experience
Who devised a schema to fit different types of religious experience into?