Religious experience key terms

A change in religious belief and/or lifestyle

Something seen other than by ordinary sight

An experience of having encountered an absolute reality or a oneness with God

Cannot be properly expressed in words

Cleary revealed insights unobtainable by the intellect alone

Having a short duration but a long-term impact

A sense of being taken over by a superior power

Having its source within the mind

When the experience exists as reality and not just in the mind

Otto's word for an experience of the holy - something inspiring awe and a sense of separateness between God and oneself

Existing outside the physical universe

Existing within the physical universe

The mystical tradition is Islam, where dervishes create mystical experiences through whirling

Where the vision seems to be physically present, e.g. Bernadette's visions of the Virgin Mary

Where the vision provides some new understanding, e.g. the Magi's warning

Where the recipient makes a conscious decision to convert, e.g. Swearing Tom

Where the recipient does not make a conscious decision to convert, e.g. C. S. Lewis

A conversion which proves someone who already believes with a deeper understanding of their faith, e.g. John Wesley

A mystical experience which produces a sense of ecstasy or bliss, e.g. Julian of Norwich's 'shewings'

St Teresa's seven stages of mystical union with God, described in her book 'The Interior Castle'

A feature mystical experience which means the recipient feels a sense of union with God or the divine, e.g. Henry Suso and Alfred Tennyson

Where multiple people have religious experiences at the same time, e.g. when the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost and the Sun at Fatima

A vision which seems to be experienced through the senses, rather than in a dream

A change in religious belief based around understanding or new knowledge, e.g. C. S. Lewis

One which occurs in a short space of time, rather than gradually

One where the recipient's actions are directly involved in causing the conversion e.g. Swearing Tom attending church