William James' Varieties of Religious Experience and Jungian Varieties of Human Nature: The nature of the relationship between religious experience, belief and psychological type

William James proposed that the varieties of religious experience depend on varieties of human nature and circumstances, but his examples drew mainly from Western traditions and he used a restrictive typology contrasting 'healthy-mindedness' with 'the sick soul'. This article reviews James's ideas in light of more recent research, especially Jungian type theory. Although James's specific hypotheses were limiting, current evidence suggests his general principle—that religious experiences vary with human nature—is supported.

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Abstract

In his book The Varieties of Religious Experience , William James pro posed that the varieties of religious experience and belief are dependent upon the varieties of human nature and human circumstances. In theory, these varieties are diverse. In practice, most of James' examples were from the western religious traditions. Furthermore, he employed a broad and complex understanding of religious experience, and focused primarily upon a restrictive and problematic typology of human nature which distinguished 'healthy- mindedness' from 'the sick soul'. In this article, James' notion of the relationship between religious experience and human nature is reviewed in the light of more recent research, and in particular in the light of Jungian type theory. Although James' specific hypotheses were somewhat limiting, there is now good evidence to suggest that his general principle, that the varieties of religious experience are dependent upon the varieties of human nature, is indeed upheld.