The Varieties of Religious Experience

Based on the Gifford Lectures James gave at Edinburgh in 1901 and 1902, this study sets aside churches and doctrines to look at religion where he thought it truly lived: in the private feelings of individuals. Drawing on diaries, letters, and confessions, he examines conversion, saintliness, prayer, and mystical states, and famously contrasts the sunny healthy-minded believer with the sick soul who must pass through despair. His approach is empirical and generous, curious about belief without insisting on it. The book helped found the psychology of religion and still speaks to anyone puzzled by faith. This free PDF and EPUB edition offers one of the great works on the inner life of belief.