Spirituality and Extraordinary Experiences: Methodological Remarks and Some Empirical Findings

Abstract

Abstract This article is based on empirical data gathered in two qualitative field studies of contemporary Western shamans and practising magicians (occultists) in German speaking countries. It emphasizes the importance of extraordinary experiences in the adoption of heterodox worldviews. The findings indicate that such experiences play a decisive role in the adoption of religious and/or spiritual beliefs as well as in individual conceptualization of spirituality. Some methodological considerations in the investigation of extraordinary experiences and their relation to assumed paranormal phenomena are mentioned. A particular problem is that these experiences often seem to contradict the orthodox, commonly accepted scientific worldview. Thus researchers who want to collect information about religious beliefs and spiritual experiences have to allow for participants’ possible fear of stigmatization. An empirical phenomenological approach, following the principle of openness (Hoffmann-Riehm) and the method of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss), seems apposite. In addition to the aforementioned methodological issues the article presents data on aspects of the lived spirituality of contemporary shamans and practising magicians as an example of secondary analysis of interview data.