Mystical Experience and Global Revolution
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key points | Argues that the authentic core of religion and spirituality is essentially revolutionary and should be embraced in strategies for global transformation. |
Abstract
Since Marx first declared religion to be the opiate of the masses, institutions of religion and spirituality have often been resisted by scholars. The assumption of many seems to always be that religion is either a reactionary response to difficult realities or a mere illusion, delusion, or epiphenomenon of brain/social function. This paper looks at the "authentic core" of religious institutions, religious/mystical experience, and, using biographical examples from the literature, argues that far from being a reactionary holdout of our primitive past, human spirituality is, in fact, essentially revolutionary. It is suggested that, in the context of a growing global ecological, political, and economic crises, the revolutionary authentic core of religion and spirituality has to be examined, recovered, and even embraced as part of any local or global strategy of transformation.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- The phenomenon of quantum change. Journal of Clinical Psychology May 1, 2004
- The New Metaphysicals: Spirituality and the American Religious Imagination Sociology of religion August 22, 2011
- Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion December 1, 2011
- Religion and Spiritual Experience: Revisiting Key Assumptions in Sociology July 1, 2013
- A Comparative Study of Mystical Experience Among Christian, Muslim, and Hindu Students in Tamil Nadu, India June 1, 2010
and 1 more in the library