The Study of Religious Experience
August 25, 2016 DOI: 10.1558/isbn.9781781794180 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Key points | The book presents Hardy's founding of the Religious Experience Research Centre through public solicitation of first-hand spiritual accounts, and argues for a multidisciplinary approach to studying religious experience in the 21st century, drawing on anthropology, philosophy, religious studies, theology, biblical studies, and history. |
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Abstract
The renowned scientist Sir Alister Hardy approached the complex field of religious and spiritual experience in a similar disciplined and scientific manner in which he approached natural science. Asking people from the public to send him accounts of first-hand experiences with spiritual or religious powers he established the Religious Experience Research Centre that has remained at the forefront of the academic study of religious experiences. This book will take his work forward and show how to study religious and spiritual experiences in the 21st century. The Study of Religious Experience aims to show how a range of disciplines – including anthropology, philosophy, religious studies, theology, biblical studies and history – approach the topic religious experience, how this approach is applied and what contributions they make to the study of religious experience.