Religion And Happiness : The Differences Of Religion And Happiness

The book Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity second edition by David Entwistle introduces the text by explaining how psychology can go in a direction, and Christian theology approach can lead in a different direction. He continued by stating the need for understanding and studying human behavior because people come from different walks of life and different expectations. It leads us to form unique perspectives to help give us an understanding of the individuals you encounter. The Entwistle 's book addresses the relationship between Christianity and culture, Christianity and science, and Christianity and psychology.

Although broad in nature, religion is complex and mysterious, yet pure. Simply put, religion represents supernatural beliefs, where traditions and ideologies vary greatly. However, religion is greater than that of a belief, but rather a way of life. According to Mary Fisher, author of Living Religions, religion is something of a sacred reality, serving as a significance and lifestyle for millions of people around the world (2). Nonetheless, figures such as E.B. Taylor, J.G. Frazer, Sigmund Freud, Émilie Durkheim, and Karl Marx have analyzed the mystery of faith, bringing new meaning and definition to the subject.

Before talking Perspectives on Human Nature, I believed that individual experiences created humans and influenced their nature. I did not believe that religion had an impact on human nature; only developmental experiences influenced individuals (similar to psychology). However, throughout the course, I learned about the influences religion has on human nature. Martin Buber’s theory about the contrast between habitation (certainty and order) and homelessness (lack of certainty) influenced my thinking on religion and human nature. Furthermore, Aristotle’s theory of ontology influenced my thinking about everything’s purpose; I did not believe that everything had a purpose.

The psychological source of religion. William James explains the psychological source in terms of “healthy minded” people and “sick souls.” He explains that the healthy minded seek religion, because it brings challenges and action towards perfecting the world. On the other hand, sick souls seek religion as a source of comfort and peace from the dividedness that one feels. Viktor Frankl explains that one has a “spiritual unconsciousness” in which one’s religion takes root. For a religious person, religion is the process of a search for meaning, and God is the ultimate source of that meaning. These two positions on the psychological source of religion really have nothing in common, other than they both reference a state of mind. James’ being healthy or sick minded, and Frankl’s being of a “spiritual unconscious.”

In Barbara Fredrickson’s Selections from “Love 2.0: How our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do and Become”, our conventional viewpoint on love is changed so that it can lead to a happier and healthier life. Similarly, in Karen Armstrong’s “Homo Religiosus”, she talks about religion and culture to explain the meaning of life and help people reach internal happiness. Both of these authors make sure that people forget about their previous beliefs so that they can reach Fredrickson’s system of “positivity resonance”, or Armstrong’s idea of internal happiness, or antta.

In William James’ 1902 book “The Varieties of Religious Experience” he opens with depicting the approach of his review. He clarifies that it would be of little advantage to construct the examination with respect to regular people who have bound religious encounters and emulate customs which have been passed on to them. Rather, he centers the review around 'religious virtuosos '. In addition, as he clarifies in his second address, the attention must be on individual religious experience instead of corporate, in light of the fact that it is more central. Actually, it is out of the extreme encounters of a little few that most religious developments (or "factions" as he terms them) have created. Part 3 builds up that individuals appear to have the ability to encounter the concealed furthermore an inclination to see it as being more genuine than things seen, listened, touched or tasted.

This semester in Philosophy of Religion has continued my journey to learn hard truths through class discussions but particularly through the required texts. All of our diverse texts have forced me to calm down my J of the Myers Briggs and helped me to understand the beauty and importance of openness toward God. Mircea Eliade 's The Sacred and The Profane, Martin Buber 's I and Thou, and Søren Kierkegaard 's Practice in Christianity have all forced an encounter with the myriad of ways in which humans experience God. Through this encounter, each author has provided ideas about a new outlet to experience God: Eliade taught us how to experience God in all parts of nature; Buber gave

Prior to understanding and describing religious experiences, it’s important to define the terms and typology of religious experiences. A point of contention for theologians is whether or not mystical or out-of-body experiences are religious in nature. To understand what the role religion plays in these experiences, for this context, you must define and understand what religion is and the major components that make it up. James states that religion “cannot stand for any single principle or essence, but is rather a collective name” (35). If you were to ask someone about the essence of an object or a concept, different people would provide various components or parts of it. You would end up of with a list ranging from objective and subjective responses, but it would provide a better understanding of it because, like religion, no one thing or person can be summed up in a sentence or a word.

1. For the first part of the paper, I interviewed one of my best friends from back home. I grew up with him throughout school and continue to be very close to him. My interviewee’s name is Nathaniel, he is 21, and studies philosophy. Nathaniel and I have been close for a long time but never fully discussed our religious beliefs openly. I was very excited to interview him for this paper.

Religion is a guideline for social conduct; additionally one may conclude of the gospel, and superstitious practices are the closest perceptible occurrence humans can term ‘magic. ' There are several definitions of the word religion because no one seems concise. One proper definition, according to Merriam-Webster, is “Religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). One might think that this distinguishing definition is most suitable for the purpose of this assignment. This paper will discuss the interviews of three different people who associate themselves with a particular religion. Hiawatha Macomb, Maxine Hawthorne, and Christian X will answer questions about their beliefs concerning religion, spirituality, faith, and perceptions about religion. In brief, the participants will have honest discussions about their beliefs in God and the supernatural.

In her book, Pearcey talks about, “Rediscovering Joy”. In the past, religion and regular life were not totally separate from one another, in fact, quite the opposite. For the majority of society in the

William James and the concept of religion In this paper, I would first like to summarize the content of William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experiences. Then, I will analyze the significance of James’ claims as it pertains to the study of religion. To state the conclusion of this paper here briefly, James’ focus on the inner experience of religious individuals reflects the very concept of religion as it came to be in the modern times; it is only due to the modern concept of religion as a category independent from other aspects of life that James is able to characterize the inner experience as the “essence” of religion. Therefore his analysis of religious experience demonstrates the effects of the modern concept of religion in our ways

Experiences, religious or otherwise, possess and exude a subjective nature in and of itself-- it is with this in consideration that one must realize the difficulty of analyzing a personal experience “cognitively,” objectively, or literally. Particularly, religious experiences symbolically bring forth ideals and values commonly seen in theistic beliefs and “moral” values, such as a strong urge to do good deeds unto others, advocating peace and love, and feelings characteristic of humanity. To its fullest extent, a religious experience occurs as a result of letting go of egotistical thoughts in order to truly appreciate the “universe,” or a higher force not necessarily seen in theistic religions such as Christianity and Islam. In abandoning the

Religion and spirituality reach into the depths of the human psyche and strongly influence a nation’s way of life.

For example, William James studied religious experience and suggested that the spiritual process works to curtail people's negative behaviors (James, 1936). For James, spirituality helps individuals recognize their own earthly suffering as either a consequence of individual pathology or addictive behavior, or both. When people begin to criticize or consciously reject problematic individual behaviors as a permanent way of being, then they become open to the possibility of rising to a higher awareness. This higher awareness of his or her own behavior is then integrated as a part of the person's psychology. James was already considering the role religion plays in a person's consciousness early in the twentieth century.