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Home > STUDENT_PUBS > RELICS > Vol. 1 > Iss. 1 (2016)

 

Abstract

Every definition and experience of mysticism we have considered in this class hinges on a closeness with God, whether in the sense of an all-encompassing “One,” in the Early Christian conception of Plotinus, or in the spiritual encounters Annie Dillard describes as part of her daily life. As a person who considers myself agnostic and does not believe in a god in the manner in which God has been described in these accounts of mysticism, I began to wonder if it is possible to have a mystical experience without the religious beliefs often associated with mysticism. In many of the texts we have studied, I felt that I could relate strongly to the experiential aspect of mysticism, but not to the underlying Christian religious tradition and depiction of God to whom these experiences were attributed. In this essay, I aim to explore whether or not mystical experience is possible without belief in a higher spiritual authority, and if it is, what this experience would look like.

Subject

Religions; Religions -- Philosophy; Religions -- History

Journal

Relics, Remnants, and Religion: an Undergraduate Journal in Religious Studies

Language

English

Publication Place

Tacoma, Washington

Publisher

The University of Puget Sound

Type

article

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