William James on spirituality, revelation, heresy and orthodoxy

[desertrat]

I've been listening to "Under the Banner of Heaven", which maybe will be a topic of another post, but he frequently quotes from "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James. There was a quote that I heard today that for me was a perfect summary on the evolution of religions:

"A genuine first-hand religious experience like this is bound to be a heterodoxy to its witnesses, the prophet appearing as a mere lonely madman. If his doctrine prove contagious enough to spread to any others, it becomes a definite and labeled heresy. But if it then still prove contagious enough to triumph over persecution, it becomes itself an orthodoxy; and when a religion has become an orthodoxy, its day of inwardness is over: the spring is dry; the faithful live at second hand exclusively and stone the prophets in their turn. The new church, in spite of whatever human goodness it may foster, can be henceforth counted on as a staunch ally in every attempt to stifle the spontaneous religious spirit, and to stop all later bubblings of the fountain from which in purer days it drew its own supply of inspiration."

[Ghost]

This reminds me of something I read in Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind. One of the many things that I found insightful in that book was his description of a corporation as a superorganism. I don't remember offhand whether he talked specifically about religious organizations, but of course it's easy to see the connection.

A superorganism in this sense will necessarily place its self interest above a particular individual or internal group. Just as a human will want to remove a cancer or a company will fire someone it sees as working against the organization as a whole, a religious movement will guard its borders as well. But considering how the movement started, as described by James, adds another element to consider. (I'm not paraphrasing Haidt here, just sharing my own thoughts.)

I don't think I've ever read The Varieties of Religious Experience straight through, but I have seen a lot of memorable quotes from it so I guess I should get around to reading it.