GRK 522: The Concept of Experience in European Religion and Theory of Religion and Its Influence on the Self-Understanding of Non-Western Religions

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There are two main reasons why contemporary philosophy of religion is so interested in the concept of religious experience. The first is theproblem of religious pluralism. Can a philosophical inquiry intoreligious experience - above all the mystical traditions of thedifferent world religions - show that at the heart of all religionsthere lies an experience that is fundamentally one? The second reasonresults from the the situation of the philosophy of religion after Hume and Kant. The rationalistic tradition critized by them was centred around the proofs for God's existence; but now the concept of experience is seen as having central importance for the interpretation and justification of religious belief.The purpose of the proposed research project is to take up thisdiscussion. It aims to clarify the significance of experience forreligion and the function of the concept of experience in the differentforms of reflection on religion. From an interdisciplinary viewpoint, the project can be divided into two main sections. First: An inquiry into the diverse terminology of experience which - through religious testimonies, theology, and the philososphy and psychology of religion - has been developed in the European (including the whole Anglo-American) tradition since antiquity. This inquiry has a systematic intention: to clarify the function both of the different forms of experience for religion as lived, and of the complex terminolgy of experience for religion as reflected upon. Second: An investigation of the influence of the European terminology of experience on the way non-western religions see themselves. To do this requires asking (a) what the function of the concepts in this process of reception has been and (b) how and why it is changing. From this conclusions will emerge concerning the different ways religions see themselves and concerning the mutual understanding of religions. The example of Hinduism and Buddhism is especially important for this investigation, since these religions, through their various techniques of meditation, have exerted a considerable influence on Europe.