a religious experience where someone feels a deep personal connection to a higher power

a philosophical approach that assesses ideas based on their usefulness in real-life situations

personal feeling or moment when someone believes they connect with a higher power

20th century psychologist and philosopher who popularised pragmatism

William James and mystical experience

Religious education

Persinger's God helmet

Ian McCormack and near death experience

St Bernadette of Lourdes

Sufism and connecting with Allah

Atman: the divine within all

In this unit pupils investigate the idea of religious experience. They start with the ideas of William James before  examining case studies from history and Christian, Islamic and Hindu worldviews.

Knowing God: does religious experience prove God exists?

facts or information that supports an idea

a device that stimulates the temporal lobes with electromagnetic fields to induce religious experiences

a neuroscientist known for developing the God helmet to study the brain's role in religious experiences

a philosophical tool that encourages questioning and doubting things to ensure we have good evidence before believing them

a complete transformation, often involving a change in worldview, such as adopting a new religious belief

a man who converted to Christianity after having a near death experience

a transformative experience often involving visions, feelings of peace or encounters with a higher power, typically reported by those who have been close to death

a philosopher who argues that religious experiences should be taken as evidence for the existence of God

understanding or information believed to be true and supported by reasons

a French town where St Bernadette’s visions of Mary occurred, now a pilgrimage site

a girl who reported visions of Mary in 1858, inspiring the Lourdes pilgrimage

the mother of Jesus, particularly honoured in Catholicism as pure and a helper in prayer

a religious experience where a person sees or feels a divine or spiritual presence

Arabic word for God (literally means 'the God')

used by Sufis to describe deep, personal knowledge of Allah that comes from spiritual experiences

a way of experiencing and connecting with Allah through personal, inner experiences

a mystical approach in Islam that focuses on achieving ma’rifah (true knowledge of Allah) through a deep, personal connection with him

the spark of Brahman or spirit within all living beings

philosopher who argues for religious pluralism

conflicting religious experiences challenge the idea they can prove the existence of God

someone who believes that different religions are paths to understanding the same divine truth

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Knowing God: does religious experience prove God exists?

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