宗教／靈性經驗之探討︰當代RERC案例分析與理論反思

本論文具備三項特點︰關注當代的議題、經驗與理論並重、宗教性與靈性流動。具體的研究策略則是從當代RERC (Religious Experience Research Centre) 超過6000筆宗教／靈性經驗案例中，選取約100筆資料作為深入分析、探討的對象，依經驗現象的當代意義以及相關宗教的議題性，選取4個主題探究宗教／靈性的世界，分別是禱告行為、預覽死亡經驗、與大自然通靈的現象、以及密契的意識狀態。首先從經驗內容分析、歸納出幾個明顯而重要的現象和議題，針對現象和議題採用當代相關的學術觀點，進行印證或辯駁，並提出筆者的論見與心得。以4個章節討論4個主題的內容概要如下︰第二章，禱告的行為就是宗教實踐的核心，透過當代禱告經驗的現象，我們看到當代宗教的面貌與社會的處境，也了解人類追求一個被賜福的生命，必須仰賴某種超越的全能者；第三章，預覽死亡的經驗案例依經驗者的處境分為4種類型，從經驗報告的內容，我們發現幾個深具意義的現象，也從各領域學者的論述中注意到「靈魂」存在的關鍵性，筆者並提出以「虛／實」取代「真／偽」的研究策略；第四章，與大自然通靈的經驗案例則是反映當代回歸自然、宇宙意識、強調知悟的趨勢，經驗者往往繞過宗教，直接訴求靈性的奧秘，因而相信大自然是一個無藩籬的通靈所在；第五章，討論密契的經驗時，注意到當代宗教／靈性經驗中神聖超越對象的移轉與多樣性，並主張重新思考「不可言說性」的密契特質，顯然當代人類的心靈屬性已經不同於傳統的內涵。論文歸結所有類型的宗教／靈性經驗都是「密契的」，當代的宗教／靈性經驗正昭告一種宗教性與靈性之間相互流動，呈現兩端游移的信仰光譜，這將是未來研究方向的一項重要思考。

關鍵字

宗教／靈性經驗；禱告行為；預覽死亡；與大自然通靈；密契的；不可言說

並列摘要

This thesis has three characteristics: concerning contemporary issues, equal attention on both experience and theory, fluidity between the religious and spiritual nature. The specific research strategy is to select about 100 pieces of data from more than 6,000 religious/spiritual experience reports in the RERC (Religious Experience Research Centre) as the object of analysis and discussion. Based upon the significance of the phenomenon and the topicality of religion, four themes are selected and discussed in four chapters to explore the religious/spiritual experiences as follows: prayer behavior, experience of previewing death, spiritual connection with nature, and mystical state of consciousness. We analyzed experiences, and summed up several phenomena and issues, then adopted contemporary relevant academic theories to discuss them, and also to put forward the author's opinions and thoughts. The content of the four themes is summarized as follows: Chapter 2, the behavior of prayer is the core of religious practice. Through the phenomena of contemporary prayer experience, we can see the religious and societal situation of contemporary world, and understand when human beings are pursuing a blessed life, they need to rely on a transcendental and omnipotent power. Chapter 3, the experiences of previewing death are divided into four types according to the situation of the experiencers. From the description of the experiences, we find several phenomena that are meaningful, and we also notice the existence of the "soul" as a key in the discussion in various academic fields. The author also proposed to replace the "true/false" research strategy with "virtual/real". Chapter 4, the phenomenon of spiritual connection with nature reflects the trends of contemporary world, such as returning to nature, cosmic consciousness, emphasizing intellectuality. These experiencers often bypass religion and directly appeal to the spirituality, and thus believe that nature is a spiritual garden without barriers. Chapter 5, while discussing the mystical experiences, author pay attention to the transfer and diversity of the sacred transcendence in contemporary religious/spiritual experiences, and propose to rethink the feature of the alleged "ineffability". It is obviously that the mind attributes of contemporary human beings are partly different from the traditional connotations. The thesis concludes that all types of religious/spiritual experience are mystical, and the contemporary religious/spiritual experience is revealing the mutual flow of religiosity and spirituality, presenting a spectrum of beliefs to and fro both ends, which will be an important direction on future research.

並列關鍵字

Religious/Spiritual Experience ； RERC ； Prayer Behavior ； Previewing Death ； Spiritual Connection with Nature ； Mystical ； Ineffability

參考文獻

1.Abram, David. (2010). Becoming Animal—An Earthly Cosmology. New York: Pantheon Books.

Google Scholar

2.Argyle, Michael. (1997). The Psychological Perspective on Religious Experience, 2nd Series Occasional Paper 8, Religious Experience Research Centre, University of Wales, Lampeter.