Awe, Wonder, and the Emotional Substrates of Religious Experience
The Oxford Handbook of Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences June 20, 2024 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192844064.013.30 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that emotions are inseparable from religious experience and that fear and guilt underlie many religious experiences, while awe and wonder are the emotions that generate the cognitive and affective characteristics of mystical experience, including sensations of being engulfed by an ineffable "more," abstract or metaphysical contemplation, and heightened ethical sensibilities. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter examines the role of emotions in religious experience. Scientific studies of emotion provide significant insight into how different emotions (e.g., fear, guilt, awe, wonder) causally influence human thought and feeling. There really is no such thing as an emotion-free experience. It is instead a matter of which specific emotion is present and how strongly it was evoked. Emotions such as fear and guilt underlie many religious experiences as evidenced by the ubiquity of petitionary prayer and rituals of contrition or penance. The emotions of awe and wonder are, however, the two emotions that produce the cognitive and affective characteristics associated with mystical religious experience. Awe and wonder evoke vivid sensations of being engulfed by an ineffable “more,” stimulate abstract or metaphysical contemplation, and enhance ethical sensibilities. This overview of the modern study of emotions helps us understand the mix of biological and cultural factors underlying religious experience.