'The Varieties of Religious Experience' Summary

The book has 14 chapters covering 20 lectures and a postscript.

Lecture I. Religion and Neurology.

In this first lecture, James outlines the scope of his investigation. Neither a theologian nor a historian of religion, James states that he is a psychologist and therefore his lectures will concern the psychology of religious feelings, rather than the institutions of religion. This further limits his enquiry to religious phenomena that have been articulated and recorded by individuals, limiting his study to either modern writers or sources from history which have become classic texts. James then distinguishes between questions concerning something's origin and its value, insisting that his purpose is to understand the origin of religious experiences and not to pass judgement on their value. This means that if James finds some material or natural cause of religious experience in his study, this should not lead anyone to conclude that this undermines their religious or spiritual value.

Lecture II. Circumscription of the Topic.

In his circumscription of the topic, James outlines how he will define religion for the sake of the lectures. Religious institutions are found wanting in this regard since they are not primary but rather depend on the private religious feeling of individuals, especially those of the founders of such institutions. James thus defines the essence of religion as "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider divine". He then distinguishes religion from moral or philosophical systems such as Stoicism which also teach a particular way or living, arguing that religion is distinguished by the presence of a sentiment which gladly assents to it. Religion is thus that which combines a moral system with a particular positive sentiment.

Lecture III. The Reality of the Unseen.

James begins his third lecture by noting that all states of mind involve some kind of object but that religious experiences involve an object which cannot be sensibly perceived. This ability to be aware of insensible objects in the mind, such as being aware of a presence in the room, is an ability particular to human beings. These experiences are sometimes connected with religion but not always, and James insists that they are not at all unusual. For those who have had such experiences, they are irrefutable and no rational argument will dissuade someone of their reality, even if the subject cannot explain or answer for the experience themselves.

James criticizes the rationalistic and scientific approaches, which would question these experiences, as being rarely convincing in the sphere of religion: rational arguments about religion are compelling for someone only if they already believe the conclusion. This is just a fact of human psychology for James, not a value judgement: humans are more persuaded irrationally and emotionally than they are by reasons. James concludes his lecture by noting the different kinds of responses such experiences can elicit (joy and sorrow), the variation of which will occupy his following lectures.