Mystical Religious Experience and Psychosis: Contours of the Problem

Abstract

This chapter explicates the challenges to diagnosing psychosis and mystical religious experience based on the criteria of one psychological approach alone. It introduces the five psychological approaches that will contribute, along with Reformed Theology beliefs, to the new paradigm for distinguishing mystical and psychotic experiences introduced in Chap. 7. The views of mystical experience expressed by Reformed Theology are presented, and a Reformed pastor’s call to ministry is used to demonstrate how a mystical religious experience could be interpreted as a psychotic or authentic mystical experience.