De-Mystifying Mysticism: A Critical Realist Perspective on Ambivalences in the Study of Mysticism
Ali Qadir, Tatiana Tiaynen-Qadir
Religions December 25, 2024 DOI: 10.3390/rel16010010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Key pieces of scholarly literature on mysticism |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Perspective graphical Epistemology Theology |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Definitions of mysticism vary along an axis of essence (reified vs. relativized) and an axis of access (elite vs. laified), with the category of experience at the origin of both axes. |
Abstract
The study of mysticism has been at an impasse for many years, wavering between naïve realism around a common core hypothesis and critical questioning of the category of mysticism and its imposition. In this article, we review key 20th century developments in the study of mysticism to understand why the term was largely abandoned and unpack the contours of this impasse. Specifically, we probe the literature to ask (i) how has mysticism been defined and (ii) who counts as a mystic? Our primary data are key pieces of scholarly literature on mysticism, including interdisciplinary studies and disciplinary literature from religious studies, history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. This review draws on a metatheoretic perspective of critical realism and is not meant to be comprehensive but rather analytical, seeking to identify patterns in scholarship. We find that each question is answered by studies along an axis, wavering between two ideal–typical poles. On the first question, we find scholarship ranging along an axis of essence between extreme poles of a reified vs. relativized substance of mysticism. On the second question, we find studies on an axis of access, varying between a rarified concept of mystical elites and a laified concept of mystical knowledge open to all. Putting studies along these axes yields a definitional space of mysticism that is compatible with critical realism and allows for the general study of mysticism to continue in a more nuanced, post-critique way. We also find that the category of experience lies at the origin or intersection point of both axes, and is a source of many problems in the general study of mysticism.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are “mystical experiences” essential for antidepressant actions of ketamine and the classic psychedelics? | 2024 | Review | |
| The Beyond Within: The LSD Story | 1965 | Book review | |
| Psilocybin occasioned mystical‐type experiences | 2020 | Narrative review | |
| Ecstasy research in the 20th century – an introduction | 2019 | Review | |
| Predictors and potentiators of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences | 2022 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Nikolay Raynov’s literary works in school textbooks during the interwar period in Bulgaria. Between the independent and the canonical religious imaginary Zeszyty Łużyckie December 29, 2025
- Psychedelics and Mysticism: Mapping Cultural Approaches 2025
- The mystic trip: how psychedelic research fell for mysticism. Psychopharmacology July 17, 2026
Cites 25
- Psychometric Evaluation of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale (OAV) PLoS One August 31, 2010
- Validation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire in experimental sessions with psilocybin Journal of Psychopharmacology October 6, 2015
- Global Street Food: la cocina de la calle Diseño interior 2009
- Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors Journal of Psychopharmacology October 11, 2017
- Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. Pharmacology & Therapeutics May 1, 2019
and 20 more in the library