Religious Experience - Essay Example

Introduction

Religious experience is a collection of subjective experiences that are perceived within the confines of a religious framework. Religious experience as a term, concept, and an area of study began at around 1900 as a response to the growing rationalism of the Western Society. It was popularized by the publication of the Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) by William James. However, the interpretation of the religious experience of individuals and societies began in the sixteenth century with the rise of numerous Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther. Religious experience may be viewed as a feeling of awe, mystery, and faith in a divine or supernatural power. It brings a feeling of guilt, anxiety, and fear of the judgment by the divine as well as a feeling of inner peace due to the obedience of the divine. Apart from the encounter with the divine, religious experience brings the understanding of holiness and righteousness due to the understanding of what the commands of the divine are. Most religions on the world are pegged on social norms and historical experiences within the context of certain societies. The society, in general, has a huge role to play in the development of religious experience. Religion is established by certain historical individuals who founded it, shared with their disciples and sent them to share their experiences with the rest of the world in order to recruit more followers. This paper, therefore, makes the case that religious experience is shaped by the participation of certain communities, their culture, norms, practices and traditions.

The Importance of Community in Fully achieving religious experience

The role of the community in the advancement of religious agenda cannot be underrated. The community most of the times forms the pillar on which the religious doctrine is developed and advanced. For example, Judaism and Jewish religions developed within the Israelite community. Jews of the day discovered and advanced their religious beliefs within the confines of their society and often referring to other communities that did not hold similar beliefs as “gentiles.” Furthermore, this assertion is supported by the fact that some religious practices have developed within the cultural practices of the communities that practice them. For example, In Islam, the Arabic language has great significance. The Quran, for starters, is written in Arabic and the majority of the prayers and rituals are conducted in Arabic. Arabic cultural practices such as the mode of dressing, eating habits and the setting of the family are highly incorporated into Islam. The community, therefore, has a huge role to play in the advancement of the religious experiences of its individuals.

It is not possible for one to have a full religious experience on their own. This part of the reason why people seek the wider community of followers to pray with and share their faith. It is often stated in religious books that being amongst the wider community enables one to strengthen their faith, conviction and develop a deeper understanding of their religion. Establishing deep human relations based on religious interactions enables one to have a deeper religious experience. In Christianity, Jesus encourages his followers to share their experience and testimony in order to encourage other believers. A Christian would know about grace through interacting with people who forgive despite being wronged terribly, God’s providence through having parents who provide to him, and something about love through being surrounded by loving people. The divine and religious interactions within the society will, therefore, enrich their religious experience and strengthen their faith and conviction.

The religious community is highly accountable. It helps strengthen the religious practices of the individual and their faith. In religion, it is not enough to have faith. One must also strictly adhere to the religious practices such as reading the religious books regularly, frequently praying, treating other people right, giving to the poor, and going on pilgrimage among others. In the healthy religious community, the individual is encouraged to share how they are advancing in faith and how they are building a strong relationship with the divine. Most religions encourage the member to testify the many good things the Divine has helped them achieve. If a person has evil intentions or does something outside the teachings of the religion, the rest of the community has the ability to remind them of the teachings of the religion and why such actions would be evil. For example, a Christian who has been wronged may be quick to seek revenge. However, the rest of the community would remind him of the teachings of Jesus considering love and forgiveness.

The cohesion of a community on religious matters determines the success of the religion as a whole in that community. The community gives religion life and vice versa. The origin and development of every religion on earth are normally understood within the context of the wider community within which it developed. The usefulness of pilgrimage is a testament to this fact. Pilgrimage are usually undertaken to places that have a certain significance to the faith of the individual and the community as a whole. It is normally taken to places such as the area of birth of the founding member of the faith, the place the faith developed or sometimes to the burial site of a key member of the faith. The common factor among all these is that the pilgrimage is taken to a place that has significance to the development of the religion.

Pilgrimage, Community, and Religious Experience. A case study of the Hajj

Pilgrimage has certain consequences to the wider religious society which affects the religious experiences of the individual members. The practice of the Hajj has a deeper meaning which can be illustrated in the examination of the roots of Islam as a religion. The Hajj brings with it the sense of belonging, identity and a deep-rooted history of the religious practice. Individuals who identify themselves with the Hajj find more satisfaction that the fulfillment of their religious obligation in the pilgrimage. The Hajj brings meaning to the religion and gives life to the religious experience of those who take the pilgrimage. The community of Islam as a whole tends to benefit more from taking the Hajj. Millions of Muslims from around the world take the trip annually despite the fact that the Hajj is heavily controlled by the Saudi Arabian Government. The interaction of Muslims from different backgrounds instills a sense of community and identity which generally adds up to the total quality of one’s religious experience. The Hajj, therefore, becomes more than a religious trip but rather a chance to advance one’s faith and establish a place for themselves among the greater global Muslim community.

Observation of the Hajj is one the five pillars of the Islamic faith. Every year, millions of Muslims visit the city of Mecca and its environs. Muslims are therefore required to visit the city of Mecca or observe the pilgrimage at least once in their lives provided that they are healthy and able to afford the visit. The significance is to walk and see the home place of their spiritual fathers starting from Abraham all the way to Mohammed. As they observe the tawaf, they are required to face the Ka’ba which is located at the center of the great Mosque of Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims pray five times a day as they face the shrine of Ka’ba irrespective of which place in the world they are.

The majority of Muslims who visit the Hajj return home with a new experience. They acquire a new status and respect within the Islamic community as having strengthened their faith and convictions by observing one of the five pillars of Islam. The Hajj has a transformative effect on one’s faith. It shows sacrifice and the willingness to go the extra mile to observe all the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. Above all, the greatest significance of the Hajj is its ability to bring together the global community of Muslims with the common agenda of honoring the commands of Allah. Muslims from around the world congregate as a community in Mosques around Mecca where they pray together and learn more religious doctrine from one another. There is no doubt that the Hajj strengthens the ties and relationships that Muslims have with each other. Furthermore, this feeling of cohesion for a common purpose helps improve the religious experience of very many Muslims.

Conclusion

Religious experience is shaped by the participation of particular communities and tradition. Religions exist and flourish out of the massive following that they gather from certain communities. One cannot have a strong religious experience in the absence of certain aspects of the greater social life. Human beings are social creatures. They are bound to share the testimony of their religious experience with the others in society. This brings the aspect of discipleship which further helps spread the religion to other people. Interactions in society and the observation of certain traditions instill the feeling of identity and accountability among the people who share a certain faith. An example is given of the Hajj pilgrimage which brings Muslims from around the world together. The tradition is as old as Islam. It is used to reveal how certain community practices and traditions strengthen the religious experience of people.