Religious Experience Reconsidered : A Building-Block Approach to the Study of Religion and Other Special Things

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. Introduction: The Problem Of Religious Experience. Experiences Deemed Religious ; Previous Work ; The Argument ; Why An Attributional Approach Is Better -- Religion : Deeming Things Religious. The Sui Generis And Ascriptive Models Of Religious Experience. Deeming Things Religious ; Special Things And Things Set Apart ; Setting Up Research ; Conclusion: A Four-fold Matrix -- Experience : Accessing Conscious Behavior. Clarifying The Concept ; Accessing Experience ; Representation And Experience Revisited ; Conclusion -- Explanation : Attributing Causality. Attribution Theory : An Overview ; An Attributional Theory Of Religion ; Four Levels Of Analysis And Attribution ; Conclusion -- Comparison : Constructing An Object Of Study. Comparing Experiences ; Specifying A Point Of Comparison ; Comparing Simple And Composite Formations ; Imagination And Reality -- Religions : A Building Block Approach. Building Blocks ; Religions As Composite Formations ; Implications. Ann Taves. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. 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. This book 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. The author 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 and 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 thought of of as religious or spiritual Introduction: The problem of "religious experience" Experiences deemed religious Previous work The argument Why an attributional approach is better Religion : deeming things religious The sui generis and ascriptive models of "religious experience" Deeming things religious Special things and things set apart Setting up research Conclusion: A four-fold matrix Experience : accessing conscious behavior Clarifying the concept Accessing experience Representation and experience revisited Explanation : attributing causality Attribution theory : an overview An attributional theory of religion Levels of analysis and attribution Comparison : constructing an object of study Comparing experiences Specifying a point of comparison Comparing simple and composite formations Imagination and reality Conclusion: Religions : a building block approach Building blocks Religions as composite formations Implications. Frontmatter List of Illustrations and Tables (page ix) Acknowledgments (page xi) Preface (page xiii) INTRODUCTION The Problem of "Religious Experience" (page 3) CHAPTER ONE Religion: Deeming Things Religious (page 16) CHAPTER TWO Experience: Accessing Conscious Behavior (page 56) CHAPTER THREE Explanation: Attributing Causality (page 88) CHAPTER FOUR Comparison: Constructing an Object of Study (page 120) CONCLUSION Religions: A Building-Block Approach (page 161) Glossary (page 181) Works Cited (page 183) Name Index (page 203) Subject Index (page 207) Annotation Ann Taves addresses the subject of religious experience directly and the problems of reductionism and humanistic fears of the sciences indirectly and by example. The orientation of this book is practical more than philosophical