Reproductive Religion? Ernst Troeltsch’s Approach to Individual Religious Experience | Amsterdam University Press Journals Online
2004
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion
  4. Volume 77, Issue 3
  5. Article
Volume 77, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 2542-6583
  • E-ISSN: 2590-3268

Abstract

Abstract

Recent publications about religion and spirituality in the Netherlands show a growing group of “religious nones”—individuals who do not affiliate themselves with a religion or ideological group. For the “unaffiliated spirituals,” those who call themselves spiritual without being institutionally affiliated, organized religions and religious communities are considered a non-necessity to one’s spirituality. This generates questions about the role, function, and value of institutional, organized religion, and religious communities. Looking at Ernst Troeltsch’s reception of William James’s individualistic approach to religion in , I show how Troeltsch outlines possible boundaries or prerequisites to an individualized approach to religion and spirituality, specifically on the level of religious experiences. Troeltsch argues that thought, media, and community are crucial parts of (re)productive religious experiences. Putting into question a purely individualistic and privatized approach to religion, Troeltsch offers a helpful and relevant perspective on the importance of religious communities and their role in articulating, even facilitating and regulating individual experiences. Furthermore, he refers to the potential of religious experiences to bridge the tension between individual and community.

© Petra Charles-Laagland Winder
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/NTT2023.3.001.LAAG
2023-08-01
2024-08-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. De Gruyter. “Ubersicht.” Accessed October28, 2022. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110433579/html?lang=de.
  2. De Hart, Joep, Pepijnvan Houwelingen, and WillemHuijnk. “Buiten Kerk en Moskee: Religie in een Pluriforme Samenleving: Diversiteit en Verandering in Beeld.”Publicatie | Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, March2022. Accessed June9, 2023. https://www.scp.nl/publicaties/publicaties/2022/03/24/buiten-kerk-en-moskee.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Graf, Friedrich Wilhelm. Die Soziallehren der christlichen Kirchen und Gruppen (1912). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, edited by Martin EMarty. The Penguin American Library. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1985.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Joas, Hans. “The Independence of Religious Phenomena: The Work of Ernst Troeltsch as a Template for the Study of Religion.” In The Anthem Companion to Ernst Troeltsch, edited by ChristopherAdair-Toteff, 25-35. Anthem Companions to Sociology. London: Anthem Press, 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Johnson, Roger A.“Idealism, Empiricism, an “Other Religions”: Troeltsch’s Reading of William James.”Harvard Theological Review80, no. 4 (1987): 449-476.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Lauster, Jörg. “Die Selbständigkeit der Religion.” In Aufgeklärte Religion und Ihre Probleme: Schleiermacher – Troeltsch – Tillich, edited by UlrichBarth, ChristianDanz, WilhelmGräb, and FriedrichWilhelm Graf, 431-455. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Rasmussen, Joel D. S.“Mysticism as a Category of Inquiry in the Philosophies of Ernst Troeltsch and William James.” In Exploring Lost Dimensions in Christian Mysticism: Opening to the Mystical, edited by LouiseNelstrop, 51-68. Burlington: Ashgate, 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Schmiedel, Ulrich. “Trouble with Trust in the Transcendent.” In Religious Experience Revisited: Expressing the Inexpressible, edited by ThomasHardtke, UlrichSchmiedel, and TobiasTan, 187-206. Leiden, Brill: 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Schmeets, Hans, and MariekeHouben. “Religieuze Betrokkenheid in Nederland.” Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, April 6, 2023. Accessed June9, 2023. https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/longread/statistische-trends/2023/religieuze-betrokkenheidin-nederland?onepage=true.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Die Selbständigkeit der Religion.”Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche5, no. 5 (1895): 361-436.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Die Selbständigkeit Der Religion. III.”Zeitschrift Für Theologie Und Kirche6, no. 1 (1896): 71-110.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Die Selbständigkeit Der Religion. IV.”Zeitschrift Für Theologie Und Kirche6, no. 2 (1896): 167-218.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Die Selbständigkeit der Religion.” In Kritische Gesamtausgabe / Ernst Troeltsch. Vol.1, Schriften Zur Theologie Und Religionsphilosophie (1888-1902), edited by ChristianAlbrecht, BiesterBjörn, LarsEmersleben, and DirkSchmid, 360-536. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Empiricism and Platonism in the Philosophy of Religion: To the Memory of William James.”The Harvard Theological Review5, no. 4 (1912): 401-422.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Main Problems of the Philosophy of Religion: Psychology and Theory of Knowledge in the Science of Religion.” In International Congress of Arts and Science. Vol. 1, Philosophy and Mathematics, edited by Howard J.Rogers, 275-288. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1905.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Troeltsch, Ernst. Psychologie und Erkenntnistheorie in der Religionswissenschaft. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1905.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Religionsphilosophie.“ In Die Philosophie Im Beginn Des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts: Festschrift Für Kuno Fischer, edited by KunoFischer, ErnstBerthold, B.Bauch, and WilhelmWindelband, 145-162. Heidelberg: Carl Winter’s Universitätsbuchhandlung, 1904.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Troeltsch, Ernst. “Review of The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature by William James.”Deutsche Literaturzeitung25, no. 49 (1905): 3021-3028.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Troeltsch, Ernst. The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches. Translated by OliveWyon. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1931.
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.5117/NTT2023.3.001.LAAG
Loading
Keyword(s): Ernst Troeltsch; mysticism type; religious experience; reproductive religion; William James

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error