Experiences of Divine Bliss, Anger and Evil during the Pandemic: Non-ordinary Experiences during Lockdown

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some people reported non-ordinary experiences involving divine bliss, anger, or evil. This article examines four such accounts submitted by email as part of a broader research project on religious, spiritual, and non-ordinary experiences during the pandemic. These experiences sometimes helped people cope with lockdown by providing positive meaning, but other times expressed stress and fear, often worsened by silence about the experience. The article situates these experiences within the academic study of religion and spiritual experiences, noting that anthropologists have long viewed non-ordinary experiences and their interpretations as reflecting cultural meaning-making processes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract This article illustrates the complexity of non-ordinary experiences during the pandemic, highlighting accounts of three different types of experiences: encounters with divine bliss, anger, and evil. The focus is on four narrative accounts of non-ordinary experiences that were submitted by email in response to a wider research project about religious, spiritual, and otherwise non-ordinary experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following sections discuss the distinction between experiences perceived as ordinary and non-ordinary and the impact of non-ordinary experiences on wellbeing during lockdown-sometimes as positive meaning-making experiences that contribute to people’s ability to cope with the lockdown and the devastation of the pandemic, and other times expressive of stress and fear, often further exacerbated by silence about the experience. The article then contextualizes approaches to studying these experiences within the academic study of religion and spiritual experiences. Anthropologists have long understood non-ordinary experiences, along with their context-dependent interpretations, as reflective of cultural meaning-making processes.