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Trend: the religious experience today
May 4, 2007
Religion, or at least conversation about it, seems to be everywhere today. On the one hand, "the religious experience" seems to be gaining popularity on campus... from Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus - New York Times:
Across the country, on secular campuses ... chaplains, professors and administrators say students are drawn to religion and spirituality with more fervor than at any time they can remember.
At Harvard these days, said Professor Gomes, the university preacher, “There is probably more active religious life now than there has been in 100 years.”
...and even over at the secular-minded EDGE, it's being discussed hotly:
From EDGE 209, on "Why the Gods Aren't Winning":
It is well documented that Christianity has withered dramatically in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The failure of the faith in the west is regularly denounced by Popes and Protestant leaders. Churches are being converted into libraries, laundromats and pubs.
Interesting chart, from the EDGE article, about the rise of "Bible Skeptics" and the decline of "Bible Literalists".
I tried to cover this ground a bit recently at Gel 2007, where the theme was "food and spirit" and a longtime friend of mine, an Anglican nun, spoke from the stage (and got some very positive reviews from a number of attendees).
"Religious experience" is a phrase that covers a lot of territory. In fact, the territory is so variegated that it's a difficult topic to discuss meaningfully without breaking it down into subcategories like William James did in The Varieties of Religious Experience - an oldie but a goody, still a classic and assigned reading at our top divinity schools.