Varieties Case

Final Reflection Paper

William James's Varieties of Religious Experience has had the most influential impact on my thinking of religion. This work is composed of a variety of lectures, in which William James attempts to study religion from a purely psychological standpoint. Perhaps, the most influential aspect of his work is that he takes this rather unfamiliar path. Indeed, because James deviates from the typical philosophical approach, he has provided a new outlook on the idea of religion. Due to this psychological approach, William James focuses more on, "not religious institutions, but on religious feelings and religious impulses" (James, pg 2). He focuses on personal religion and the results that it produces for a particular individual. This focus on personal religion coupled with his objection to medical materialism, have helped me gain new insight into the ideas behind religion.

The most influential aspect of his work is what is now called James's Methodological Individualism. This was a relatively different approach to studying religion, however it is for this reason that I found it to be interesting. James believes that the personal relationships that individuals form with what they believe to the divine are the fundamental core of religion. In fact, James defines religion as, " the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine" (James, pg 54). This definition sincerely forms the basis for his ideas behind religion and provides a more subjective view in studying religion. For example, James believes that institutions try to impose uniformity in thought and belief; however this is problematic due to the fact that people have different beliefs and this is what ultimately drives the phenomenon we know as religion. Because religion is a personal phenomenon, it is continuous with all other human emotions and experiences and can therefore be explained by examining the human psyche. Additionally, it explains why there is such great diversity in the world's religions: simply because there is even greater diversity among human beings. Humans vary almost infinitely in their beliefs, temperaments, and experiences and the different religions of the world exist to satisfy the varying needs and interests of these different people. Indeed, I found James's approach very attractive because he is looking at religion from a truly individualistic view.

Furthermore, another fascinating aspect of James's work is how he distinguishes between different types of attitudes and judgments. James begins by stating that all attitudes have objects that elicit a reaction from the individuals. He continues by saying that attitudes of thought elicit stronger reactions than objects of sense. As an attitude of thought, religion produces very strong