This special issue of the Journal for the Study of Religious Experience (JSRE) has the theme of Religious Experience and Ecology. A connection between religious/spiritual/extraordinary experiences of various kinds and the natural world has long been recognised in the literature of religious experience research - from the induction of ecstatic and mystical experiences in wilderness locations, to the enhanced sense of connection to nature that seems to follow in the wake of many religious, paranormal and psychedelic experiences. Given that we are currently living in a period of ecological crisis, with loss of ecosystems and individual species on a scale that has never before been seen, coupled with the rise of climate and environmental activist groups around the world, it seems pertinent to explore the processes through which our sense of connection to the natural world is established and maintained. Religious and extraordinary experiences would seem to play an important role in this context.
Published:
2021-05-21
