Relationship of Personal Cognitive Schemas to the Labeling of a Profound Emotional Experience as Religious-Mystical or Aesthetic

Abstract

Subjective experiences of profound religious-mystical and aesthetic experiences share common characteristics, suggesting that apparent differences between them may reflect a person's individual cognitive schema. Six characteristics common to descriptions of religious-mystical and aesthetic experiences were distinguished. A questionnaire was designed to determine the following: 1) the extent to which participants were religiously oriented, and engaged with art; 2) if participants had experienced a profound religious-mystical and a profound aesthetic experience, and 3) had experienced events with six characteristics common to descriptions of profound aesthetic and religious-mystical experiences. Of 487 respondents, 391 met the criteria for having had a profound experience. A significant relationship was found between individuals' personal cognitive schema (religious or artistic) and their labeling of similar profound experiences.

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