Back to the full dot-point answer
WalesReligious StudiesQuick questions
Philosophy of Religion (Units 2 and 5)
Quick questions on Religious experience: James, Otto, Swinburne and its challenges - WJEC A-Level Religious Studies
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is model paragraph?Show answer
The decisive question is whether naturalistic explanations defeat religious experience or merely accompany it. Critics argue that if a vision can be triggered by temporal-lobe activity or a drug, then the brain, not God, is its cause, and Freud adds that the longing for a protective father explains why such experiences occur. But Swinburne's principle of credulity shifts the burden: ordinary perception also has a neural correlate, yet we do not conclude that seeing a tree is "just brain activity" and that no tree is there.
What is q1?Show answer
State William James' four marks of mystical experience. [4 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
What is Swinburne's principle of credulity? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Evaluate the view that religious experience is the strongest argument for God. [20 marks]
Have a question we have not covered?
This dot-point answer is short enough that we have not extracted many short questions yet. Read the full dot-point answer or ask Mo, our study assistant, in the chat for follow ups.