In What Religion Is the British Idealist philosopher Bernard Bosanquet inquires into the essence of religion apprehended as a central human experience which is associated with the dialectical process of the human being’s self-realising endeavour. Bosanquet’s views on religion belong to the second phase of the philosophy of religion of the British Idealists which is characterised by a stronger sense of immanentism. The purpose of this article is, first, to show how Bosanquet’s analysis is based on a conceptual framework which (...) contains notional patterns drawn from a set of normative principles that is derived from his metaphysics. Secondly, the article reconstructs and assesses his views on the meaning and importance of religion and religious consciousness for the human being’s spiritual battle to achieve a state of self-realisation and affirm the spirit that characterises the true content of human nature. Thirdly, the article focuses on the elaboration and crystallisation of the fundamental structural components of Bosanquet’s theory of religion that constitute the conceptual framework of his philosophical project. Throughout, I emphasise that Bosanquet’s analysis of religion is an integral part of his moral and social ontology, the inmost essence of which is the concept of good as the only real and final end of the human being’s struggle for the realisation of the true or real self. It is my contention that Bosanquet defends from the idealistic standpoint a theory of religion that reveals in an original way the essence of religious consciousness in its relation to the meaning of the finite individual’s life. The comprehensive understanding of Bosanquet’s position in What Religion Is presupposes, however, prior knowledge of the basic concepts of his metaphysics. The strength of Bosanquet’s theory of religion derives from: its metaphysical foundation; and its implications for the individual’s ethical and social life. Its contribution to the philosophy of religion lies in the fact that it offers a viable alternative theory to the foundationalist-evidentialist view of religious faith. (shrink)

A well-known term in eighteenth-century literature and philosophy, the “beautiful soul” (die schöne Seele) has resurfaced in recent years. Deleuze refers to the beautiful soul’s “religiosity” and argues that aggressive “selection” is necessary as its antidote. However, in volatile contexts of social destabilization, such selection risks recoiling into reactionary violence. After first developing in more detail the beautiful soul’s background as a discursive figure, I argue that understanding Deleuze’s selection within a context of spiritual experience is necessary to mitigate this (...) worry. Exploration of this experience is pursued through juxtaposition of Deleuze’s thought with Nishida Kitarō’s investigation of the ontological structure of religious consciousness. The comparative resonances I develop suggest an ontological objectivity to the problems and structuring of the logos of religious consciousness and show how a more explicitly spiritual rendering of “selection,” developed through the Deleuze/Nishida encounter, intervenes into the broader beautiful soul problematic. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Simone Weil: The Philosophical Mystic The Varieties of Religious Experience Mysticism, its Varieties, and its Authority Sam Harris on Spiritual Experience Schleiermacher on the Essence of Religious Experience.

A discussion of the intellectual impact which Modernity has had on Islamic religious consciousness.

It is one of the ironies of our times that, as the practise of religion wanes, a theoretical interest in it on the part of many anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers waxes. Among these, only philosophers bring to their task a long history of theological and reli gious relations. Hence their renewed interest has been hailed as a break down of isolationism, heralding, perhaps, a new era of interdisciplinary peace. To celebrate this new ecumenism, a Chicago seminary, consis tently with (...) its purpose, sponsored a colloquium to explore the future of philosophical theology. If some of its participating professional philosophers initially felt a twinge of embarrassment over their presence at an ostensibly theological meeting, they soon were at ease. No one was called upon to define the topic, or even to suggest its relationship to a philosophy of religion. Conveniently, everyone could role up his sleeves and get to work on a job he personally felt needed doing. Can we wonder that the lay observer appeared somewhat confused? Was the purpose to analyze "God talk," or to find a place for 'God' in a metaphysical scheme? Or if not these, something else? It soon became evident that the participants in the colloquium ranged from the free swinger to the severely inhibited, depending upon the role each assigned to dogma and creed. (shrink)

The problem of human religious consciousness can be attributed to the category of "eternal" philosophical problems, which have never been removed and cannot be removed from the agenda of humanity. The world outlook of a person is updated throughout history as the person, conditions and content of his life, his goals, ideals and perspectives are constantly changing. In each era, this problem retains its fundamental importance, and, being part of all significant philosophical systems, means not a simple continuation (...) of a particular tradition, but the identification of the changing aspects and historical perspectives of human existence. The question of what consciousness, which is its nature and essence, is of great ideological, ideological and practical importance, since it touches upon the foundations of human existence, content and purpose of life. (shrink)

Religion, which is a historical and cultural phenomenon of social life, has a special influence on the development of the spiritual culture of mankind. It arose and developed together with society, created in it the appropriate forms of consciousness and ideological culture. The emergence and functioning of religious views, ideas, ideas and ideals - a phenomenon of objective reality, the fact of history and culture. Becoming a status of cultural values, religion continues to affect the consciousness and (...) behavior of people. (shrink)

Contributed papers presented at a seminar organized by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, in May 1987.

The opposition in which many phenomenologists of religion stand to the above remarks is clear. Religious consciousness of the world, in being tied to the language of a particular faith, requires conceptual mastery for its emergence. Linguistic and non-linguistic skills in the use of concepts must be developed through fledgling attempts and repeated practice. In noticing this, attention has been called to the fact that such consciousness is far from being man's natural inheritance. It is acquired through (...) instruction and learning, and the concepts which generate Christian consciousness of the world make demands upon a person which go straight against his grain. Using the Christian concepts as tools in handling the various situations along life's way requires strenuous and repeatedly renewed effort. There remains a certain Christian distance from ordinary ways of doing commerce with the world. The way, after all, is said to be narrow. So to become conscious of the world in a Christian manner is to submit oneself to the rigors of the concepts. It is to permit one's life to be guided and ruled thereby in his regard for the world.In making these observations, it becomes clear, too, that the Christian life and consciousness is one in which a man chooses to be enmeshed. It is a matter of human decision. In so choosing, a man makes his life determinate; he gives it shape. The specificity or concreteness demanded in and with the language of faith should be contrasted with the rather diffuse and indeterminate character of the religious awareness thought to be so deep and abiding by phenomenologists. Because of its lack of particularity in contour, this notion of religious consciousness is virtually inconsequential. That which is increasingly common to all men begins to wane in significance within the life of the single individual. Comparatively speaking, the choice to reduplicate Christian avenues of thinking and acting is replete with ramifications and differences which are clearly discernible. By virtue of the specificity required, however, it is also the case that one must renew that decision daily, seek to nurture it, train and discipline himself in it. Making the faith one's own, abiding in it day and night--these lead down different pathways. But the distinctive patterns of living and thinking add up after a while with a cumulative effect. Through the acquisition and practice in exercising'Christian concepts, one earns a consciousness of the world which is Christian in scope and nature. (shrink)

The opposition in which many phenomenologists of religion stand to the above remarks is clear. Religious consciousness of the world, in being tied to the language of a particular faith, requires conceptual mastery for its emergence. Linguistic and non-linguistic skills in the use of concepts must be developed through fledgling attempts and repeated practice. In noticing this, attention has been called to the fact that such consciousness is far from being man's natural inheritance. It is acquired through (...) instruction and learning, and the concepts which generate Christian consciousness of the world make demands upon a person which go straight against his grain. Using the Christian concepts as tools in handling the various situations along life's way requires strenuous and repeatedly renewed effort. There remains a certain Christian distance from ordinary ways of doing commerce with the world. The way, after all, is said to be narrow. So to become conscious of the world in a Christian manner is to submit oneself to the rigors of the concepts. It is to permit one's life to be guided and ruled thereby in his regard for the world.In making these observations, it becomes clear, too, that the Christian life and consciousness is one in which a man chooses to be enmeshed. It is a matter of human decision. In so choosing, a man makes his life determinate; he gives it shape. The specificity or concreteness demanded in and with the language of faith should be contrasted with the rather diffuse and indeterminate character of the religious awareness thought to be so deep and abiding by phenomenologists. Because of its lack of particularity in contour, this notion of religious consciousness is virtually inconsequential. That which is increasingly common to all men begins to wane in significance within the life of the single individual. Comparatively speaking, the choice to reduplicate Christian avenues of thinking and acting is replete with ramifications and differences which are clearly discernible. By virtue of the specificity required, however, it is also the case that one must renew that decision daily, seek to nurture it, train and discipline himself in it. Making the faith one's own, abiding in it day and night--these lead down different pathways. But the distinctive patterns of living and thinking add up after a while with a cumulative effect. Through the acquisition and practice in exercising'Christian concepts, one earns a consciousness of the world which is Christian in scope and nature. (shrink)

The study of the Hegelian understanding of religious consciousness has never been carried out in the domestic philosophy, although this topic is extremely important, as the philosopher shows the gradual formation of religious consciousness as a special gestalt of self-knowledge of a spirit that is different from other forms of consciousness, and therefore has its own, inherent only to him, specifics.

The present article consists of four parts, and the first part examines the concept of life-world from the phenomenological perspective and argues that the characteristic features of the life-world would be through inspection, analysis and description of the life as we encounter it devoid of scientific explanations. The second part of the paper develops the idea that religion finds its meaning and significance only in the domain of life-world because the phenomena that one experiences in the religious acts take (...) place primarily in a pre-theoretical way. Thus, it is argued that the operative dimension of phenomenology of religious consciousness involves a new understanding of subjectivity—a passive plane of subjectivity—whose locus is differently conceived by Husserl, Scheler and Heidegger. The third part of the paper draws attention to the religious phenomena whose intended structures and meanings go beyond mediation and suggests that symbols form a realm between objectively given things and subjectively intended meanings. In other words, religious symbols serve as indispensable mediating bridges. The final part of the paper proposes that religious experiences like all other experiences, though are rooted in life-world, yet it transcends its worldly contents. (shrink)

Excerpt from The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Study of the Growth of Religious Consciousness The author of the following pages has thought in his modesty that, since his name is as yet unknown to fame, his book might gain a prompter recognition if it were prefaced by a word of recommendation from some more hardened writer. Believing the book to be valuable, I am glad to be able to write such a preface. Many years ago Dr Starbuck, (...) then a student in Harvard University, tried to enlist my sympathies in his statistical inquiry into the religious ideas and experiences of the circumambient population. I fear that to his mind I rather damned the whole project with my words of faint praise. The question-circular method of collecting information had already, in America, reached the proportions of an incipient nuisance in psychological and pedagogical matters. Dr Starbuck's questions were of a peculiarly searching and intimate nature, to which it seemed possible that an undue number of answers from egotists lacking in sincerity might come. Moreover, so few minds have the least spark of originality that answers to questions scattered broadcast would be likely to show a purely conventional content. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

In the development of history, due to the unbalanced development of various ethnic groups, some ethnic minorities do not have their own characters. However, with the development of the times and the appearance of cultural relics, it can be seen that most ethnic groups have their own unique dances, and the performance forms and styles of dances reflect the connotation of dance culture and religious culture to a great extent. This paper makes a related research on the influence of (...) religious consciousness on the cultural connotation of dance. This paper expounds the related concepts of religious culture and dance culture, and analyzes the relationship between religious culture and dance culture in order to promote the development of religious culture and promote the unique charm of ethnic dance in religious culture. At the same time, based on the current development of religious culture and dance culture, this paper analyzes and discusses the inheritance and development of religious culture in dance culture. In this paper, an in-depth study of the relationship between dance culture and religious culture is helpful for dancers to grasp the scale of dance and religion, absorb reasonable factors, learn from historical experience and prosper dance creation. (shrink)

The most of Tagore’s ideas expressed in his books and usual writings that draw attention by the Tagore’s scholars, a layman/woman cannot connect easily. The letters focused in this article are written in a simple language, though personal, rooted in daily experiences of Tagore himself—he shares in a very simple and lucid language. Often, the charges against Tagore’s philosophy are made that he is too idealistic and beyond realization. The paper attempts to argue based on these letters that his ideas (...) are not that idealistic and are deeply rooted in the daily life of human beings and can be realized. Tagore’s concern is to find out the basis of the religion that unites human beings, and he is searching for it in the truth of man’s nature. Tagore realizes that teaching of religion can never be imparted in the form of lessons, but he finds it in the living personality of man. This article is trying to concentrate on the letters Tagore had written to Indira Devi and Hemantabala Devi, expressing his religious thinking. The eagerness to realize the unity of the soul of man and universe with the Universal Man expressed the letters to Indira Devi. The criticism towards the blind faiths of Hinduism and image worship focuses on the letters to Hemantabala Devi. Many essential documents are expressing the religious thinking of Tagore, but these letters are the purest expressions of him and reflect a live image of Tagore’s mind. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the peculiarities of language functioning in the structure of a person's religious consciousness. The article is an attempt to actualize and rethink some of the scientific methods of contemporary religious discipline in the light of new research in psychology and linguistics. Much has been done along the way. The most notable specialized work of recent years on this topic can be considered "Language and religion" by N.B. Mechkovskaya, (...) which was released in 1998. There are enough works relevant to our topic that should be addressed; in the field of psychology these are the works of Luria, Rubinstein, Leontiev, Vygotsky, Fromm, etc., ethnology and linguistics - Saussure, Levi-Strauss, Potebna, and others. (shrink)

In today's world, with extraordinary force, such religious functions as axiological, moral-regulative, ideological and compensatory are actualized. In the process of successive secularization, the influence of religion on human communities and their way of world perception, world outlook and life significantly decreased. The gradual differentiation of the forms of social consciousness has led to the fact that religions in its variations of different confessions and traditions of expression, the segment of moral and spiritual influence on humanity was left (...) to guard. And such a situation was considered justified and expedient, especially given the harm that human communities have been making attempts to religiously legitimize a purely political decision of specific individual policy makers. Abuse of religion to cover private economic or political interests has led to negative consequences in public life, and sometimes in wars and extremism. However, with the beginning of the 21st century and the event of discrediting contemporary secular values-not-motivated regulatory forms of organization of social reality, it becomes apparent that religions have not exhausted their socio-regulatory potential. (shrink)

Local scholars have done much in the study of religion as a complex socio-historical phenomenon. Structurally, religion appears to them as a cohesive unity of religious consciousness, religious activity, religious relations and religious institutions and organizations. Such a structural sequence of elements, which in their totality constitute the phenomenon of religion, recognizes as its initial component religious consciousness. A characteristic feature of the latter is its conceptual impact on other structural entities of religion. (...) With the erosion of religious consciousness comes the weakening of other elements of religion. (shrink)

The question of the secularity of society still remains open, since scientists have proposed only cautious speculative answers, while every scientist understands that in the social sciences it is a sad experience of predictions, that history is random and therefore unpredictable and the future always remains fundamentally open. The process of transformation of postmodern society, the development of which is actively influenced by the current pandemy of COVID-19, entailed the revival of religious values ​​and the formation of a qualitatively (...) new religious consciousness. In connection with the rise in the social status of religious consciousness and the widespread dissemination of religious ideas, primarily at the everyday level, the analysis of individual religious consciousness as one of the ways to comprehend the world is of particular importance. The social nature of religious consciousness is manifested not only in the fact that religious values ​​are perceived as a kind of khanism of social regulation, but also in the fact that they serve as epistemological guidelines and often compete with scientific values. This determines the growing philosophical interest in the analysis of the epistemological functions of religion and secular reality, as well as the cognitive capabilities of religious consciousness, which is impossible without a consistent study of the methodological basis of religious knowledge. (shrink)

The publication in 1807 of Georg Wilhelm Frederich Hegel's Phanomenologie des Geistes (translated alternately as "Phenomenology of Mind" or "Phenomenology of Spirit") marked the beginning of the modern era in philosophy. Hegel's remarkable insights formed the basis for what eventually became the Existentialist movement. Yet the Phenomenology remains one of the most difficult and forbidding works in the canon of philosophical literature.

When Bradley finally turns to a critical appraisal of religion in his works, it occurs always as an ancillary enterprise, subordinated to some other speculative interest. Thus in his early work, Ethical Studies, Bradley reaches a consideration of religion at the conclusion of his analysis of the “world” of morality and then only because he has discovered in the moral sphere a dialectic which inevitably leads the moral aspirant beyond the moral viewpoint to religion. In Appearance and Reality, it is (...) the explicit dialectic of the “good” that leads onward to an analysis of the nature and cognitive claims of religious awareness. In both instances, however, the examination of religion is subordinated to other theoretic interests: in one case to the problem of discerning the relation between the spheres of morality and religion, and in the other, assuming this relation, to the question of the degree of truth and reality in religion when judged by the metaphysical criterion operative in Appearance and Reality. (shrink)