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Updated Mar 20, 2026

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2 pages

Why People Have Religious Feelings: How They Affect What We Believe

Niamh R

@belro2967

Religious experiences and their psychological explanations are explored in this... Show more

RESPONSE TO RE AS UNION
Religious experiences are different
to ordinary experiences. They dre
not empirical but are usudily
private to the i

Corporate Experiences and Objections

This page continues the discussion on religious experiences, focusing on corporate experiences and objections to their validity. It also explores the challenges in interpreting religious experiences and their impact on personal beliefs.

Corporate experiences are described as religious events involving large groups of people. Examples include:

Fatima: In 1917, a crowd of over 30,000 in Portugal claimed to witness the sun "dancing" in the sky.
Medjugorje: In 1981, six children reported visions of the Virgin Mary over several days.
Toronto Blessing: A 1990s phenomenon involving uncontrollable laughter, crying, and other physical manifestations attributed to the Holy Spirit.

The text then presents objections to corporate experiences:

Mass Hysteria: The possibility that large groups can generate physical symptoms in response to psychological stimuli, potentially explaining some corporate religious experiences.
Trivial Acts: Concerns about the seemingly trivial nature of some claimed acts of God in corporate experiences.
Individual vs. Shared Experiences: The difficulty in determining whether these are truly shared experiences or multiple individual experiences occurring simultaneously.

The page also addresses the challenges in interpreting religious experiences:

Conflicting Truth Claims: Different religions interpret similar experiences in vastly different ways, leading to conflicting beliefs.
Particularity: The theological question of why God would choose some individuals for experiences and not others.
Logical Problem: The challenge of comprehending a God who is "wholly other" to human beings.

Definition: Mass Hysteria - A phenomenon in which a group of people collectively manifest similar physical or emotional symptoms, often triggered by a perceived threat or belief.

Example: The Toronto Blessing, where participants experienced uncontrollable laughter and other physical manifestations, is cited as an example of a corporate religious experience.

Vocabulary: Numinous - Describing a spiritual or supernatural quality, especially one that inspires awe and reverence.

The page concludes with a list of key terms related to religious experiences, including ineffable, noetic, transient, passivity, pragmatism, empiricism, pluralism, mystical experience, numinous experience, conversion, corporate experience, and self-surrender.

Religious Experiences: Psychological Explanations and Validity

This page explores the nature of religious experiences and various perspectives on their origins and validity. It delves into psychological explanations for religious experiences and methods for evaluating validity of religious experience claims.

Religious experiences are described as distinct from ordinary experiences, being private and non-empirical. Peter Donovan's distinction between 'feeling certain' and 'being right' is highlighted, suggesting that claims of knowing God through religious experience may simply indicate a feeling of certainty rather than objective truth.

The text presents several psychological and physiological explanations for religious experiences:

Ludwig Feuerbach's view that the idea of God is a human invention, projecting human qualities onto a divine being.
Sigmund Freud's argument that religious behavior stems from childhood insecurities, with religious experiences being hallucinations caused by subconscious desires.
William James' perspective that psychological explanations don't necessarily rule out supernatural ones.
Carl Gustav Jung's idea of a collective unconscious containing an archetype of God.

The validity of testimonies regarding religious experiences is discussed, with Caroline Franks Davis arguing for a more critical assessment of such claims due to their significance. William James emphasizes the importance of examining the after-effects on character and lifestyle rather than relying solely on testimony.

Quote: "William James argued that even if RE have a psychological explanation, this does not mean that a supernatural explanation is ruled out."

Vocabulary: Empirical - Based on observation or experience rather than theory or logic.

Highlight: The text emphasizes the importance of critically evaluating religious experience claims, considering factors such as the individual's reputation, state of mind, and potential biases.

The page concludes by introducing the concept of corporate experiences, such as the events at Fatima and the Toronto Blessing, which involve large groups of people claiming to have shared religious experiences.

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Religious Studies

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491

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Updated Mar 20, 2026

•

2 pages

Why People Have Religious Feelings: How They Affect What We Believe

Niamh R

@belro2967

Religious experiences and their psychological explanations are explored in this summary, discussing the impact of religious experiences on personal beliefs and methods for evaluating validity of religious experience claims.

Key points:

Religious experiences differ from ordinary experiences, being private... Show more

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

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Corporate Experiences and Objections

Corporate experiences are described as religious events involving large groups of people. Examples include:

Fatima: In 1917, a crowd of over 30,000 in Portugal claimed to witness the sun "dancing" in the sky.
Medjugorje: In 1981, six children reported visions of the Virgin Mary over several days.
Toronto Blessing: A 1990s phenomenon involving uncontrollable laughter, crying, and other physical manifestations attributed to the Holy Spirit.

The text then presents objections to corporate experiences:

Mass Hysteria: The possibility that large groups can generate physical symptoms in response to psychological stimuli, potentially explaining some corporate religious experiences.
Trivial Acts: Concerns about the seemingly trivial nature of some claimed acts of God in corporate experiences.
Individual vs. Shared Experiences: The difficulty in determining whether these are truly shared experiences or multiple individual experiences occurring simultaneously.

The page also addresses the challenges in interpreting religious experiences:

Conflicting Truth Claims: Different religions interpret similar experiences in vastly different ways, leading to conflicting beliefs.
Particularity: The theological question of why God would choose some individuals for experiences and not others.
Logical Problem: The challenge of comprehending a God who is "wholly other" to human beings.

Definition: Mass Hysteria - A phenomenon in which a group of people collectively manifest similar physical or emotional symptoms, often triggered by a perceived threat or belief.

Example: The Toronto Blessing, where participants experienced uncontrollable laughter and other physical manifestations, is cited as an example of a corporate religious experience.

Vocabulary: Numinous - Describing a spiritual or supernatural quality, especially one that inspires awe and reverence.

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

Religious Experiences: Psychological Explanations and Validity

The text presents several psychological and physiological explanations for religious experiences:

Ludwig Feuerbach's view that the idea of God is a human invention, projecting human qualities onto a divine being.
Sigmund Freud's argument that religious behavior stems from childhood insecurities, with religious experiences being hallucinations caused by subconscious desires.
William James' perspective that psychological explanations don't necessarily rule out supernatural ones.
Carl Gustav Jung's idea of a collective unconscious containing an archetype of God.

Quote: "William James argued that even if RE have a psychological explanation, this does not mean that a supernatural explanation is ruled out."

Vocabulary: Empirical - Based on observation or experience rather than theory or logic.

Highlight: The text emphasizes the importance of critically evaluating religious experience claims, considering factors such as the individual's reputation, state of mind, and potential biases.