An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

part of a cumulative argument, they strengthen the case for belief in the 
divine. They are in harmony with what is contained in the writings of the 
world’s great faiths, many of which can trace their origins to similar expe-
riences. Religious experiences and traditions are perhaps best appreciated 
as offering intimations of an ultimate reality beyond our comprehension, 
but partially revealed in many different ways. 
The differences between religions might best be understood with the 
help of the ancient Indian story of the blind men and the elephant. One 
man felt the trunk and deduced that it was a kind of snake; another 
touched the ear and thought it like a leaf; a third put his hand around the 
leg and found it like a tree trunk; another felt the tail and was convinced 
that it was like a rope. Each man had an insight into one aspect of what 
he was exploring, but none had a complete understanding of the whole.
Spiritual experiences happen to men, women and children all over the 
world and always have done. It is as if a door opens and a new realm is 
revealed, in the depths of the heart as well as within and beyond the uni-
verse. The underlying message is one of love for our environment and 
above all, for each other. Surveys worldwide indicate that more than half 
of us would say that they had some kind of spiritual experience. We can 
choose to ignore or explore this level of awareness. However, as we are 
faced with an ever-growing need for mutual understanding and global 
co-operation, a spiritual approach to life may be our best hope for the 
future of the planet.
Conclusion

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258
Notes
1 Alister Hardy 
The Spiritual Nature of Man, A Study of Contemporary 
Religious Experience 
(1979) OUP. p. 1.
2 Ibid. p. 18.
3 The Alister Hardy Trust website was consulted on 19 February 2008.
4 Hay, David 
Religious Experience Today
(1990) Mowbray, London. p. 42.
5 Quoted in Cafer Yaran 
The Varieties of Religious Experience of Muslims in 
Turkey: Some Results of a National Survey in 2006–07
given at the BASR 
Conference 2007 in Edinburgh. p. 7.
6 Keeble, John ‘
This Unnamed Something’, A Personal Portrait of the Life of 
Professor Sir Alister Hardy FRS 1896–1985
(2000) RERC, Lampeter. 
pp. 9–10.
7 Quoted in 
Religious Experience Today
by David Hay (1990) Cassel, 
London. p. 17.
8 
The Varieties of Religious Experience
by William James (2002 edition) 
Routledge, London and New York. p. 11.
9 William James 
The Varieties of Religious Experience
(2002 edition) 
Routledge, London and New York. pp. 29–30.
10 Wilfred Cantwell Smith 
The Meaning and End of Religion
(reprint 1963) 
Fortress Press, Minneapolis. p. 194
11 Smart, Ninian 
The Religious Experience of Mankind
(Third Edition 1984) 
Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. p. 15.
12 Peggy Morgan in ‘Continuing the work’ in 
De Numine
No. 35, February 
2004 RERC, Lampeter. p. 20.
13 Alister Hardy 
The Spiritual Nature of Man, A Study of Contemporary 
Religious Experience 
(1979) OUP. p.1.
14 Michael Paffard 
Inglorious Wordsworths
(1973) Hodder and Stoughton, 
London.
15 2
nd
Series Occasional Paper 34 
Encounters Beyond the Pond: The Limit 
Experiences of Senior High School Students 
(2002) RERC, Lampeter.
16 Marghanita Laski 
Ecstasy in Secular and Religious Experiences
(1990) 
Jeremy P. Tarcher, Los Angeles.
17 William James