Sociologists of religion, in their concern for the social effects of religious institutions and the functions of religious meaning systems for people's identities, have neglected to study religious experiences. This paper explores Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow experiences and Alfred Schutz's theory of the tuning-in relationship as possible approaches to studying the experiential...
Random samples of dormitory residents at three colleges in Xían, People's Republic of China (N = 314), and at the University of Maryland (N = 214), were polled regarding frequency of déjà vu, night paralysis, extrasensory perception (ESP), contact with the dead, out-of-body experiences, and belief in ESP. American respondents were also requested to evaluate their self-perceived religiosity and...
This paper is concerned with the processes of conversion-commitment to a new religious forro and how it is actually accomplished by the individual. Physiological consequences of meditative practices are seen as neglected by sociologists and as important for shedding light on how one becomes in this case a Zen practitioner. Becker's analysis of the learning involved in becoming a marijuana user...