There must be something solemn, serious, and tender about any attitude which we denominate religious. If glad, it must not grin or snicker; if sad, it must not scream or curse. It is precisely as being solemn experiences that I wish to interest you in religious experiences. ... The divine shall mean for us only such a primal reality as the individual feels impelled to respond to solemnly and gravely, and neither by a curse nor a jest.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Religious attitudes require solemnity and seriousness, not extreme emotions or frivolity.
- In plain terms
- Religious feelings should be serious and respectful, not overly emotional.
- What can you take from it?
- Approach spiritual matters with gravity and sincerity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes an experience religious to you?
- How do you show reverence?
Another view
Not all spiritual experiences require solemnity.
More from William James
Modern transcendental idealism, Emersonianism, for instance, also seems to let God evaporate into abstract Ideality. Not a deity in concreto, not a superhuman …
Permalink to quote #54 It makes a tremendous emotional and practical difference to one whether one accepts the universe in the drab discolored way of stoic resignation to necessity, …
Permalink to quote #56 Religion...is a man's total reaction upon life.
Permalink to quote #53
Related quotes
Religion, therefore, as I now ask you arbitrarily to take it, shall mean for us the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far…
William JamesWilliam James quote #52 On all occasions of trial He has saved me. I know that the phrase 'God saved me' has a deeper meaning for me today, and still I feel that I have not yet graspe…
Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi quote #18 The human organism itself seems to be hardwired for these deep spiritual patterns, although not necessarily for the specific ways that they show up in a partic…
Ken WilberKen Wilber quote #29