Catholic Converts and the Sect System

Introduction

The analysis of literary works on the topic of religion helps to gain a better understanding of its basic concepts and varieties. Thus, individuals can realize the uniqueness of each faith. Hence, the book by Mullen, “The Chance of Salvation: A History of Conversion in America,” focuses on the history, talking about the various conversions that have formed in the United States. As part of this work, a chapter seven study entitled “Maybes are the essence of the situation” was examined. It aroused particular interest, as it is the final one and contains much valuable information for further study.

Religious Uncertainty

Therefore, the book “The Chance of Salvation” is a narrative about a variety of religious conversions, the variety of which can cause confusion for some people. Moreover, it is noted that religious uncertainty has been a problem for a long time¹². Many scientists have made attempts to create a justification for the choice of a particular faith, one of which was William James³⁴. The source stresses that “at issue for James was not so much whether religious beliefs were true, but what it meant to have to choose between them and justify that choice.”⁵ He based his vision on historical experience, which gave his concepts special significance and value. It is also worth noting that James emphasized the critical role of experience and based his knowledge on personal religious temperament and mystical experience.⁶⁷. Thus, William James gave way to further study of the phenomenon of religious uncertainty.

Inquiry and Impression

Further, the chapter provides information that the concept of doubts about faith lies not in disbelief but in the desire to know religion. In other words, one of the main reasons for religious uncertainty may be human inquiry⁸. In addition, William James argued that people make decisions about choosing a particular faith-based not only on experience but also on the impression they experience⁹¹⁰. This well explains the concept that many individuals at the moment cannot accurately determine which religion they would like to relate themselves to.

The Importance of Choice

Throughout his career, James devoted a lot of time to the question of the emergence of doubt and uncertainty about religious choice. Hence, he believed that many people have faced this problem throughout history and that it is not a relic of the time that was formed by previous generations¹¹. Moreover, in order to facilitate the understanding of faith, James determined the minimum for each of them so that individuals would not have ideas that some aspects and concepts could be false¹². Valuable in this chapter is the conclusion about the importance of choice and conversion to the faith for religion. It is noted that it depends on a variety of social and cultural factors that can play both a positive and a negative role.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the analysis of this chapter provided valuable insight into the question of doubts about religion. In particular, the critical contribution of William James to the definition of religious uncertainty is noted. Thus, he notes the unique role of historical and personal experience and impression in choosing the religion that individuals follow. Therefore, the choice becomes essential in studying religious uncertainty in the context of the formation and existence of a wide variety of conversions.

Bibliography

Campbell, James. Experiencing William James: Belief in a Pluralistic World. Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 2017.

Carrette, Jeremy, and David Lamberth. “19. William James and the study of religion: A critical reading.” Religion, Theory, Critique. Columbia University Press, (2017): 203-212.

Dastmard, Marziyeh. “The Relationship of Religion and Spirituality in the School of Thought of William James.” International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 6, no. 6 (2020): 730-738.

James, William. Arguing About Knowledge. London: Routledge, 2020.

Lapoujade, David. William James. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019.

Lechner, Clemens M., and K. Silbereisen Rainer. “Social change–uncertainty–religiosity.” Pathways to Adulthood: Educational Opportunities, Motivation and Attainment in Times of Social Change, (2017).

Misak, Cheryl. “James on religious experience.” Philosophical Inquiries 5, no. 2 (2017): 63-73.

Mullen, Lincoln A. The Chance of Salvation: A History of Conversion in America. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2017.

Stewart, David. Exploring the Philosophy of Religion. London: Routledge, 2017.

Sweeny, Kate, Brandon Q. Tran, and Maria D. Ramirez Loyola. “Religiosity as a predictor of worry during stressful periods of uncertainty.” Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, (2021).

Taves, Ann. Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020.

Annotated Bibliography

Campbell, James. Experiencing William James: Belief in a Pluralistic World. Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 2017.

This source is an analysis of the works of William James and the contribution he made to American philosophy. The strength of this Campbell’s book is to provide a valuable perspective on the knowledge highlighted by James, as they are still relevant to the present. During the study of the source, no negative sides were highlighted, and the emphasis on pluralism helped to support the claims about the importance of inquiry for religion.

Carrette, Jeremy, and David Lamberth. “19. William James and the study of religion: A critical reading.” Religion, Theory, Critique. Columbia University Press, (2017): 203-212.

“William James and the study of religion” is a chapter in the book “Religion, Theory, Critique” by James Carrette. The strength of this source is an in-depth study of Williams’ work and providing a critical point of view on the results of his examination. This aspect becomes useful for this paper. However, it is worth noting that a small amount of information is given to the biography of the author.

Dastmard, Marziyeh. “The Relationship of Religion and Spirituality in the School of Thought of William James.” International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 6, no. 6 (2020): 730-738.

The article by Marziyeh Dastmard is a scientific work providing information about the works of William James on the topic of religion and spirituality. The strong point of the article is a brief and understandable presentation of the basic concepts derived by the philosopher. This source is valuable because it provides an understanding of how James formed his knowledge about the process of choosing faith.

James, William. Arguing About Knowledge. London: Routledge, 2020.

The book “Arguing About Knowledge” The importance of this source for research is that it was written directly by William James. Hence, researchers have the opportunity to more accurately understand the author’s point of view, which is valuable for a scientific paper. The weak side of the source may be the difficulty in understanding some parts of the book.

Lapoujade, David. William James. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019.

The book is an introduction to the works of William James and their significance on the influence of philosophical trends. The value of the source is that it explores how the philosopher James treated the issue of religious affiliation and its foundations. The weaknesses of this source were not deduced due to the fact that it clearly and concretely reveals the topic, which makes a positive contribution to this work.

Lechner, Clemens M., and K. Silbereisen Rainer. “Social change–uncertainty–religiosity.” Pathways to Adulthood: Educational Opportunities, Motivation and Attainment in Times of Social Change, (2017).

The article Lechner and Rainer “Social change–uncertainty–religiosity” is valuable for research, as it examines uncertainty and uncertainty about religion. The strength of the work is the reliance on evidence and the standards of previous research. The weak side of the study is the fact that religion is a contested issue.

Misak, Cheryl. “James on religious experience.” Philosophical Inquiries 5, no. 2 (2017): 63-73. Web.

Misak’s article “James on religious experience” examines the relationship between the foundations of William James’ theory of truth and religious experience and worldview. It is this aspect that is of particular interest and value for work. The weak side of the study is the limited amount of supporting literature. On the other hand, the strength of the source is reflected in the comparison of paradigms of theory and human experience.

Mullen, Lincoln A. The Chance of Salvation: A History of Conversion in America. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2017.

This book is the basis for this analytical work. Thus, the source addresses the issue of the diversity of religions and the uncertainty that arises in its consequence. The difficulty in studying this study is in the possible difficulties in understanding the text. However, deep research and valuable information about William James as a philosopher are his strong point.

Stewart, David. Exploring the Philosophy of Religion. London: Routledge, 2017.

A book by Stewart titled “Exploring the Philosophy of Religion” analyzes the interaction between religion and philosophy. The value and strength of this work is the reliance on primary-source readings and the provision of various points of view of many philosophers. The slack is that the book may seem overwhelming because of the rather difficult to perceive readings.

Sweeny, Kate, Brandon Q. Tran, and Maria D. Ramirez Loyola. “Religiosity as a predictor of worry during stressful periods of uncertainty.” Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, (2021).

Sweeny et al. in their article analyze how religious diversity affects people’s choice problems, which is part of this scientific paper. The strength of this work stands in the fact that it is based on evidence from the results of the conducted study. The weakness may be ethical problems that may arise during the experiment.

Taves, Ann. Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020.

This source explores the issue of personal experience and religion through the perspectives of various philosophers. Thus, the book is valuable for research, as it provides historical information. The weaknesses of this work were not highlighted, but it is worth noting the possible difficulties with understanding the concepts provided.

Footnotes

• 1 Sweeny, Kate, Brandon Q. Tran, and Maria D. Ramirez Loyola. “Religiosity as a predictor of worry during stressful periods of uncertainty.” Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, (2021).
• 2 Lechner, Clemens M., and K. Silbereisen Rainer. “Social change–uncertainty–religiosity.” Pathways to Adulthood: Educational Opportunities, Motivation and Attainment in Times of Social Change, (2017).
• 3 Dastmard, Marziyeh. “The Relationship of Religion and Spirituality in the School of Thought of William James.” International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 6, no. 6 (2020): 730.
• 4 Lapoujade, David. William James. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019.
• 5 Mullen, Lincoln A.The Chance of Salvation: A History of Conversion in America. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2017.
• 6 Misak, Cheryl. “James on religious experience.” Philosophical Inquiries 5, no. 2 (2017): 64.
• 7 Stewart, David. Exploring the Philosophy of Religion. London: Routledge, 2017.
• 8 Campbell, James. Experiencing William James: Belief in a Pluralistic World. Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 2017.
• 9 James, William. Arguing About Knowledge. London: Routledge, 2020.
• 10 Taves, Ann. Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020.
• 11 Mullen, Lincoln A. The Chance of Salvation: A History of Conversion in America. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2017.
• 12 Carrette, Jeremy, and David Lamberth. “19. William James and the study of religion: A critical reading.” Religion, Theory, Critique. Columbia University Press, (2017).