Doświadczenie religijne – problemy terminologiczne

The vast number of interpretations of religious experience hinders scientific discourse, especially when mystical experiences are conflated with all religious experiences or when unfamiliar types are dismissed. A graded scale of religious experiences is proposed, with mystical experiences as the most intense form. Drawing on Otto's sensus numinis, the content and components of experience become central. Joachim Wach's classical conception orders the discourse and makes religious experience a core principle of religious studies, while Abraham Maslow's concepts of peak and plateau experiences are also promising. Religious experience is graded, not merely a sense (sensus numinis), brings cognitive and volitional effects, need not be personal, and is usually expressed through symbols and myths.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The huge number of interpretations and approaches to religious experiences makes discourse in the scientific studies of religion on the scope and significance of these phenomena extremely difficult. Especially misleading is the identification of them with mystical experieces, as well as attempts to depreciate these types of experience that are alien to researchers. A possible solution is the introduction of a differentiated scale of religious experiences in which mystical experiences constitute their "climactic", emotionally and cognitively most intensive form. Acknowledging Otto's definition of sensus numinis, the content of the experience and its cognitive, motivational and physiological components become a problem. In this situation most promising is on the one hand the classical conception of Joachim Wach, which orders the discourse and proposes recognising research on religious experiences with one of the main principles of religious studies, and on the other Abraham Maslow's concept of "peak experiences" and "plateau experiences". Therefore, (1) religious experience is graded; (2) it is not exclusively the sense itself (sensus numinis), since it brings cognitive and volitional effects, (3) it need not have a personal character and (4) experiencing it usually leads to various, more or less successful attempts to express it, and this then happens by means of symbols and is organised in the form of myths.