Contemporary Varieties of Religious Experience

Lynn Bridgers

doi:10.5771/9780742575158

Summary

First published in 1902, William James's Varieties of Religious Experience is considered a classic in religious studies and the psychology of religion. But how has James's classic study weathered decades of development in psychology and behavioral sciences? Do the assertions about religious experience in the Varieties still ring true in light of neuro-cognitive and neuro-hormonal research, resiliency studies, studies of temperament, and traumatic studies? By extending William James's own research throughout the century since its publication this volume seeks to answer those questions. In doing so, it revolutionizes our understanding of James's own view of psychology and reveals the extraordinary value of James's perspective for religion, psychology, and spirituality today. In doing so, it offers vital insights for pastoral care and faith development at both the individual and congregational level. From the Introduction by James Fowler: Drawing on the authenticity of her own experience, Bridgers carries us into a remarkably clear and well documented account that traces William James's evolution as a psychologist, philosopher, and a deeply engaged inquirer into the dynamics of spiritual development and transformation... This book has a major contribution to make. Bridgers's study illumines the horizons of contemporary research in the study of religious experience, in all its varieties, and in the context of globalization.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2005
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7425-4432-1
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7425-7515-8
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 229
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Foreword No access
1. Beginning Where We End No access
2. The Importance of The Varieties of Religious Experience No access
3. Examining James's Method No access
4. William James a Century Later No access
1. From Principles to Varieties No access
2. Mysticism and Monism No access
3. The All and the Each No access
4. Characterizing Religious Experience No access
5. Benefits of James's Perspective No access
1. The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness No access
2. The Sick Soul No access
3. Rediscovering James's Perspectives No access
4. Kagan's Temperament Studies and James's Typology No access
1. Describing the Prophet No access
2. James's Phenomenological Method-Lectures IV and V No access
3. Phenomenological Evidence-1902 to 2002 No access
4. Conclusion No access
1. Describing the Monk No access
2. James's Phenomenological Method-Lectures VI, VII, and VIII No access
3. Phenomenological Evidence-1902 to 2002 No access
4. Conclusion No access
1. Describing the Mystic No access
2. James's Phenomenological Method-Lectures X and XI No access
3. Phenomenological Evidence-1902 to 2002 No access
4. Conclusion No access
1. Consolidating Christian Identity-Prophetic Beginnings No access
2. The Sick Soul-Augustine of Hippo and the Monastic Tradition No access
3. Redefining Christian Identity-The Spontaneity of the Spiritual Innovator No access
4. Implications for Contemporary Religious Communities No access
5. Conclusion No access
Bibliography No access Pages 209 - 220
Index No access Pages 221 - 228
About the Author No access Pages 229 - 229