Religious Experience and the Christian Spiritual Tradition (DD8701Y)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

The unit specifies and explores multiple ways of understanding ’religious experience’. It critically reflects on grace and conversion and the crucial role these play within the Christian spiritual tradition.

The unit develops an understanding of the nature of experience, and different kinds of religious and depth experiences through:

  • the students’ own spiritual autobiographies;
  • exploring the process and dynamics of grace and conversion in the context of spiritual accompaniment;
  • examining the contemplative foundations of spiritual direction through an examination of, and reflection on; biblical, patristic, medieval, reformation, mystical spirituality, images of God and Jesus, both historical and personal;
  • exploring spiritualities of Indigenous Australians and of East Asian and other religious traditions; and
  • providing opportunity for students to experience different ‘religious’ experiences such as mindfulness, meditation, the use of visual images, imagination, storytelling and dreams.

Unit code: DD8701Y

Unit status: Approved (Minor revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Spiritual Direction

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

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Learning outcomes

1.

Critically analyse the Biblical, theological and spiritual underpinnings of the ministry of spiritual direction
2.

Critically discern and describe the varieties of religious experience they encounter in their ministry as spiritual directors including indigenous, East Asian or other religious traditions
3.

Articulate a critical understanding of the role mindfulness, meditation, visual images, imagination, story-telling and dreams play in religious experience and spiritual direction
4.

Critically reflect on the relation of grace to their experience and the experience of those to whom they minister
5.

Critically explore a theology of grace appropriate to their experience

Unit sequence

Co-requisites: DD8703Y and DD8705Y

Pedagogy

Synchronous lectures, tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

Readings for Religious Experience

  • Courinho, Paul. How Big is Your God? The Freedom to Experience the Divine. Chicago, IL: Loyola, 2007
  • Grieves, V., Aboriginal Spirituality: Aboriginal Philosophy: The Basis of Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing (Darwin: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2009).
  • Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. United Kingdom: Basic Books, 2006.
  • Harris, S. Waking Up: a guide to Spirituality without Religion. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2014
  • Lane, Dermot, A. The Experience of God: an invitation to do Theology. New York: Paulist Press, 2003

Readings for Grace and Conversion

  • Alphonso, Herbert. The Personal Vocation. Rome: Centrum Ignatatianum, 2002.
  • Conn, Walter, ed. Christian Conversion. New York: Alba House, 1986.
  • DeLorenzo, Leonard J. Witness: Learning to tell the Stories of Grace That Illumine Our Lives. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria, Press. 2016.
  • Louf, Andre. Grace Can Do More: Spiritual Accompaniment and Spiritual Growth. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian, 2002.
  • Liebert, Elizabeth. The Way of Discernment. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2008.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Personal Reflection - Personal Grace

1500 word personal reflection

 1500 25.0
Personal Reflection - Religious Experience

3000 word personal reflection

 3000 50.0
Personal Reflection - Experience of Conversion

1500 word personal reflection

 1500 25.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 31 Aug, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-08-31 12:39:01 +1000