An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

Keith Ward (1938–)
Keith Ward suggests that ultimate reality is not wholly unknowable. His 
view is that the different religions, while not having complete understand-
ing, do offer valid insights into the nature of the divine. He takes an inclu-
sivist view that the different ways of approaching the divine are efficacious 
and valuable. In 
Concepts of God
he compares and contrasts the doc-
trines relating to ultimate reality, whether conceived as Brahman, Sunyata 
or God. He finds a profound convergence between them, a similar under-
standing of the divine, approached by turning away from egoism.
However he does not consider all beliefs about ultimate reality equally 
true. Although none has exclusive claim to the truth, some must offer a 
more adequate approach to the truth than others. Yet the traditions can 
learn from and enrich each other, as their cultural differences lead to 
valuable and complementary insights.
In his paper 
Is there a Common Core of Religious Experience?
Ward argues that there is a range of core experiences which reflect a 
convergent spirituality within religions. He considers two traditions, 

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Christianity and Vedanta and argues that there is a common core of 
religious experience.
It is a ‘core’ in that it focuses on the most central and important ele-
ment of religious belief, the nature of the supremely Real. The core is 
common, because there is an overlapping identity of description of the 
Real in both Vedantic and Christian traditions. Brahman and God both 
have the character of wisdom, infinity, intelligence and bliss. Both form 
the one and only self-existent, on which all other beings depend. The 
simplest hypothesis is that these descriptions refer to the same reality, 
and experience of that reality is experience of the same thing.
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