What were William James' ideas on religious institutions (e.g. churches)?

• believed religious experiences were the source of religious institutions
• churches were secondary to each individuals relgious experiences

What are conversion experiences?

• can be gradual or sudden, religious beliefs becoming central to a person's life and this affects their behaviour
• e.g. Paul on the road to Damascus, changing from a persecutor of Christians to one of the most influential and important Christian preachers and missionaries

What are the 4 characteristics of religious experience?

Ineffable

Noetic

Transient

Passive

Define 'ineffable' experiences

• The direct experience of God goes beyond human powers of explanation

Define 'noetic' experiences

• mystics receive knowledge of God that is not otherwise avaliable, these are direct revelations from God

Define "transient" experiences

•  a different perception of time and duration of the event
• the effects not being transient (like the experience itself) as they are long-lasting and involve a changed view of the universe and the mystic's place in the universe 

Define "passive" experiences

• experiences were not under control of the mystics,the religious experience is something that happens to the mystic and is from God
• James saw this as evidence agaisnt arguments that claimed a religious experience can be explained by saying a person willed it

What are some of the responses to William James' ideas on religious experience (r.e.)?

• religious experiences are hallucinations, drugs e.g. LSD
• psychologists and sociologists claim that r.e. only happen to people who are already members of a religion
• J.L. Mackie, if mystical experiences are explainable psychologically (James said) then these have no authority even for the person who has the experience
• "insufficiently critical"