Predictors and outcomes of some religious experiences

Abstract

A non-ordinary and transcendent religious experience (NOTRE) is an event that a religious believer reports about an unusual encounter with the divine, and which does not occur on a day-to-day basis. NOTREs are distinguishable from general feelings of closeness with God, of beauty of life and the world, and of joy and comfort attributed to the divine. Often highly emotionally charged, they are events which the believers themselves consider extraordinary, miraculous, and overwhelming. In this research, we focused on NOTREs that are related to physical healing from serious illness, speaking in tongues, and prayers and meditation. Two questions formed the focus of the present longitudinal study: First, who are more likely to report NOTREs? We expected that some NOTREs would be predicted by faith-related variables (faith maturity and religiosity) measured at an earlier time. Second, what are the effects of such alleged experiences on the person’s subsequent spiritual and psychological state? We expected that some NOTREs would predict faith maturity, religiosity, and religious behaviors measured ...