RLBcB551 Empirical perspectives in the research of religious experience

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jana Nenadalová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ivona Vrzalová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable of Seminar Groups
RLBcB551/Kombi: Fri 8. 10. 16:00–17:40 D32, Fri 5. 11. 16:00–17:40 D32, Fri 3. 12. 16:00–17:40 D32, J. Nenadalová
RLBcB551/Prez: Tue 12:00–13:40 N43, J. Nenadalová
Prerequisites
RLBcA001: Úvod do religionistiky
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course gives a basic overview of the empirical research of religious experience and religious experiences' typology. Attention will be focused on main theoretical approaches to the study of religious experience, their critique, and broader context. Students will explore concepts like a religious experience, mystical experience, psychedelic experience, experience deemed religious, etc. They will be guided on distinguishing between essentialist (perennialist), social constructivist, and cognitive approaches to the study of religious experience. Furthermore, students will explore the benefits and limits of different methodological approaches to the religious experience. The reading of three relevant studies, writing of one commentary, and its seminar discussion will aim for a deepening of students' ability to argue and to understand theoretical texts. At the same time, students will be guided on the creation of individual project proposals, aiming to theoretically conceptualize, and methodologically grasp phenomena chosen by themselves.
Learning outcomes
After the successful end of the course, students will be able to:
• Recognize basic theoretical approaches in the study of religious experience from the 19th century until today,
• Understand basic methodological approaches to the study of religious experience,
• Recognize and understand the terminology, relevant to the study of religious experience,
• Understand the cultural and theoretical context of different approaches to the study of religious experience and different typologies of religious experience,
• Understand theoretical papers and argue their informed opinion,
• Write their own project proposal.
Syllabus
  • • Course introduction
  • • William James and the beginnings of the religious (mystical) experience research o Workshop 1
  • • The sixties, psychedelic mysticism, and the emergence of alternatives
  • • Perennialism (essentialism) in the study of religious experience
  • • The phenomenology of the religious experience o Workshop 2
  • • Constructivism in the study of the religious experience
  • • The anthropology of the religious experience
  • • The crisis and critique of the “religious experience” as a scientific concept: finding new ways in the cognitive science of religion
  • • Experience deemed religious: Building block approach and event cognition o Workshop 3
  • • Predictive processing and religious experience
  • • The evolutionary implications of the religious experience
  • • Presentation of annotations and a closing discussion.
Literature
    required literature
  • JAMES, William. The varieties of religious experience. New York, NY: Library of America, 2010, xviii, 517. ISBN 9781598530629. URL info
  • TAVES, Ann. Religious experience reconsidered : a building-block approach to the study of religion and other special things. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, xv, 212. ISBN 9780691140872. info
    recommended literature
  • Luhrmann, T. M. (2020). How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
  • Schjoedt, U. & Andersen, M. (2017). How does religious experience work in predictive minds? Religion, Brain & Behavior, 7(4), 320–323.
  • Taves, A. (1999). Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • FRITH, Christopher D. Making up the mind : how the brain creates our mental world. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2007, xii, 234. ISBN 9781405160223. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, individual reading of study literature, writing of commentary and its subsequent articulation on seminar discussion, active participation in seminar discussions, presentation of project proposal annotation and subsequent individual writing of the project proposal, lecturers’ written and spoken feedback on project proposal.
Assessment methods
Written commentary on assigned literature to one of three seminars (0–20b, 10%), its presentation on seminar discussion (0–10b, 10%), activity during seminar discussions (0–20b, 10%), writing of the annotation for individual project proposal (0–40b, 10%) and its quick presentation during the closing discussion (0–10b, 10%), bonus points for presence and activity (0–10b). For the whole semestral activity, a student must gain at least 60 points from 100 max – 50%. Further is required writing of the individual project proposal, its submission during the announced dates to the IS depository, and its defense during colloquium (at least 60 points from 100 max – 50 %). In summary, students must gain at least 120 from 200 maximum points (100 %) from the whole course. Within both main sections, students must gain at least 60 points.
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2021, recent)
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