Asking questions about religious experience

Abstract

Research evidence in both Britain and the United States over the past 15 years suggests that reports of 'religious experience' are much more widespread than was previously suspected. The concept of 'religious experience' has its origins in Protestant Christianity, but has come to refer to a realm of experience believed by some scholars to be common to all members of the species. It would seem that recent proposals to make comparative investigations of religious experience across a number of different religious cultures require an assumption of the validity of the 'common core' view. Some of the difficulties involved in this assumption are discussed, and suggestions made for a continuing research programme.