Thesis

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation
Robin Baugus
University of Washington
Jackson School of International Studies
Comparative Religion Department
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................2
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................1
2. Facets of Religious Ecstasy.........................................................................................................5
2.1 What is Ecstatic?................................................................................................................5
2.2 Authentication and Validation...............................................................................................8
2.2.1 The Night of Power and Excellence: A Brief Case Study.............................................9
2.3 The Experiencer..................................................................................................................10
2.4 Sanctioned Ecstasy..............................................................................................................14
3. Ecstatic Religion in a Historical Context...................................................................................18
3.1 Ancient Greece....................................................................................................................18
3.2 Shamanism..........................................................................................................................22
3.2.1 The Manipulation of Unsanctioned Ecstasy................................................................26
3.3 The Development of Abrahamic Traditions........................................................................28
3.3.1 The Establishment of Judaism.....................................................................................29
3.3.2 The Establishment of Christianity...............................................................................33
3.4 The Merging of Religious Traditions..................................................................................36
3.4.1 The Emergence of Buddhism in China........................................................................38
3.4.2 The Emergence of Buddhism in Japan........................................................................41
4. Ecstatic Religion in a Modern Context......................................................................................45
4.1 The Role of Religious Ecstasy in Shembe..........................................................................45
4.2 Brief Case Studies of Other Modern Examples..................................................................48
4.2.1 The Case of Calvinism................................................................................................49
4.2.2 The Case of Aimee Semple McPherson......................................................................50
5. Conclusion: A Need for Religion...............................................................................................52
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................55
Acknowledgments
Thanks given to James Wellman, the Jackson School of International Studies, and the Honors
Department at the University of Washington for four and half years of meaningful education, and
encouraging me to push the limits of what I could do.
To Philip Tite for consultation in the form of debates and discussions about my arguments, and
the provision of potential sources when you had so many other things to be doing. Also to
Clarissa Surek-Clark who helped me locate sources on Shembe when all seemed lost.
To the friends who selflessly volunteered their time without hesitation during a desperate plea for
proofreading: Zach Oppenheim, Joe Huang, Evie Martinez, Kaitlyn West, Stephanie Lopez,
Chase Landry, James Cragun, Alison Horner, and Anuraag Sharma.
To my family, lest they feel left out. Thanks for your unflagging belief in my abilities and your
patience as I snapped during, cut short, and ignored phone calls as this thesis came together.
Lastly, to Eisley. For her constant company and unending love.
ii
1. Introduction
The concept of Religious Ecstasy has certainly woven its way into society and
continues to leave its mark on our consistently evolving culture - and rightly so.
These
experiences constantly shape and reshape the beliefs of man, allowing the human race to
maintain its desire for religious structure and purpose in an ever changing world. It is therefore
not unreasonable to believe that, without religious ecstasy, religion would cease to function in
human life as it became an obsolete notion. The theory proposed here is that the use of religious
experiences, particularly ecstatic experiences, validate and aid in the evolution of a religious
belief system or practice to the extent which it will conform to the societal norms, expectations,
and beliefs which would otherwise render it obsolete. In short, religious ecstasy is a catalyst for
religious adaptation. This theory is not concerned with the truth or lack thereof of the individual
experiences simply whether or not these experiences are regarded as valid by the experiencer
and others around them. Nor is this theory concerned with how religion as a whole came to exist
merely with how religion continues to exist.
To expand upon the cursory explanation provided above, I propose that the survival of
religious traditions may follow a common series of events, dependent upon the religious ecstatic
experience of key individuals. As societal norms begin to shift, religious practices and customs
gradually become obsolete or viewed as no longer relevant. Growing inconsistencies with the
widespread beliefs of societies and the religious traditions they adhere to lead to the failing of the
religious tradition. That is to say, a religious congregation will dwindle and overall followers
will decline putting the religious tradition in danger of extinction. When this happens, a key

figure in the community, perhaps a religious leader, 1 may have an ecstatic experience during
which they claim to be contacted by their deity and told that the religious institution should be
operated along the principles different from those which had defined the tradition previously.
Invariably, these new guidelines of operations or beliefs align with the general public, changing
or eliminating those points from which the initial disharmony sprung. Alternatively, if no such
ecstatic experience is had by a member of the clergy or if an ecstatic experience by the clergy is
not deemed authentic by the adherents, a key figure from among the congregation may also have
an experience which leads to the separation of a group from the religion and the formation of a
new denomination or sect of that religious tradition as long as the ecstatic experience of this
key figure is deemed authentic and valid by the general adherents. This process may also be
exercised in the establishment of new religious traditions, not just in the adaptation of existing
ones.
All cultures of the world evolve and change through technological advances, influences
from surrounding societies, and changing mindsets which can, and do, periodically cause a
religion to become outmoded. Religions which glorified the divine are confronted by scientific
inquiry, which has allowed for a greater understanding of the natural world and its processes previously thought to be mystical and of divine inspiration. The most notable example of this
conflict can be seen with certain sects of Christianity whose opposition to scientific progress
stems from the ability of science to invalidate the truth of the Holy Bible. 2 Furthermore, as
societies change with time, the mindset of its citizens also change. Likewise, whereas it may
1 While primarily reserved for so-called western traditions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in particular), the
term clergy, as it appears in this paper, may be equated to mean any religious leader of any religious tradition.
2 For instance: Newton's discovery of gravity stirred massive controversy and in the modern day there are many
court cases surrounding the teaching of evolution over creationism in school

have been acceptable for individuals of African American decent to be enslaved, it is now
deemed illegal, wrong, and a violation of human rights.
Whereas women were formerly
confined to the home, unable to vote or own land, they are now seen legally as equals in some
nations, including the United States allowed to hold positions in the military, own land, climb
corporate ladders, and make their own choices.
The changing ideas of a society may, perhaps, form the greatest threat against established
religion. Religions which cannot accommodate the founding ideas and morals of a people will
not earn adherents and followers, nor be able to hold onto their current congregational base as
their ideas and morals shift.
Those faiths founded upon patriarchal beliefs must then
accommodate the growing status of women allowing them to hold clerical positions, key roles
in the church, and encourage their growth in general society. The alien must be accepted and
rights be granted which were previously withheld: in the more modern world, we witness the
emergence of battles on marriage equality. While exploring her saga into the heart of the
Evangelical church, Gina Welch mentions the effect of widespread support for same-sex
relationships when an anti-gay activist (Rick Warren) was asked by Obama to give the invocation
at his inauguration. While Warren's website contained a statement effectively discouraging gay
people from even thinking about membership, Welch points out that the exposure to the
moderating influence on the left led to the removal of the anti-gay language in only days
(Welch 2010, 109). Warren's removal of this controversial material protected him, and his
church, from some of the scrutiny and detrimental opinions the general public may have formed
against him. In short, the established religion must (and in Warren's case, did) change to fit the

needs of the established culture.3
This theory, which as been proposed above in general terms, will be expanded upon more
clearly in the coming chapters. Chapter two seeks to break down the individual facets which
make up the theory of religious ecstasy as religious adaptation. The nature of an ecstatic
religion is briefly explored followed by the concepts of authenticity (was the ecstatic experience
recognized as real or not?) and validity (was the ecstatic experience attributed to positive
entities?). Lastly we will examine the kind of individual who may have an ecstatic experience
which induces religious adaptation and explore the notion of sanctioned ecstasy (that is to say,
whether or not an ecstatic experience is approved). Chapter three views religious ecstatic rituals
and experiences in a historical context, including Ancient Greek religion, shamanism, and the
emergence of two of the Abrahamic traditions: Judaism and Christianity. Chapter four examines
in detail the case of Shembe (a form of Christianity tailored to Zulu culture in South Africa) and
in brief the cases of Calvinism and Aimee Semple McPhereson's Angelus Temple, which will
allow the reader to apply the individual parts of the 'religious ecstasy as religious adaptation'
theory towards relevant examples in a more modern context. Finally, chapter five takes a brief
look at what may be identified as a need for religion.
3 This is further asserted in Lewis' study of shamanism and spirit possession when he states that [religious
phenomena]...rise, change, and decline in response to variations in the external circumstances which play upon
them. (Lewis 2005, p.86)
2. Facets of Religious Ecstasy

In order for religious ecstasy to affect a religion it must meet certain criteria. These
criteria are not necessarily components of the ecstatic moment itself, as there are various kinds of
religious ecstasy which may occur for the purposes of religious adaptation, but rather revolve
around the reactions of the experiencer and those around them to the moment in question.
However, it would be useful to first briefly explore what qualifies an experience as ecstatic for
the purposes of this paper.
2.1 What is Ecstatic?

Ecstasy is often immediately associated with terms such as possession or ritual. In
such cases, it is also easy to consider only those experiences in which a prescribed ritual is
adhered to (some may bear to mind shamanistic visions embarked on only under specific
conditions), or dramatic instances of possession (such as speaking in tongues, or demon
possession requiring exorcism). In such instances, ecstatic religion is most attuned to Ioan M.
Lewis' notion of ...[that] mystical exaltation in which man's whole being seems to fuse in a
glorious communion with the divinity. (Lewis 2005, 15)
For the purposes of this paper, however, this narrow definition of ecstatic religion has
been expanded: the experience itself need not necessarily be out of body, violent, or even
particularly grand in any sense of the word. Lewis acknowledges that ecstatic experiences are
accompanied by phenomena...[such as] 'speaking with tongues', prophesying, clairvoyance, and

transmission of messages from the dead, and other mystical gifts... (Lewis 2005, 15) As it
pertains to this theory of religious adaption, religious ecstasy is thus any event wherein an
individual claims to have received guidance and/or a message from a higher power instructing
them on the ways in which they should proceed in order to remain in good religious standing.
Religious ecstasy also includes any event attributed to a higher power and utilized as proof for
that higher power's existence. While the latter definition includes the more traditional tokens of
religious ecstasy (possession, speaking in tongues, etc.) the former also includes a broader array
of ecstatic experiences (dreams, ritualized journeys, and visions, etc.). Such ecstatic moments
need not be induced (whether by trance states, drugs, or other means) either; one may simply go
to sleep, as they do on any other night, and wake up the next morning having had a dream in
which they believe they were visited by their deity or some other manifestation of a higher
power. Even such a mundane experience as this may be considered ecstatic for the purposes of
this paper so long as the dream itself meets one of the two criteria above: that is the experiencer
was provided with a form of religious guidance, or the experiencer uses the dream as proof of the
existence of a greater entity. The important factor is that some deity (or other entity) is attributed
to the event and thereby provides validity for the words and actions of the experiencer following
the event.
While uncommon, the notion of mundane ecstasy (as it will henceforth be referred to in
this paper) is not necessarily novel. In some ways it has been hinted at by other scholars.
Timothy Fitzgerald noted in his article on religious experience that:
Religious experience might be extended to include the totality of an individual's
experience of the world as it is interpreted within the terms of Christian institutions,
symbols, and meanings. In this case the term religious experience does not only

include the extraordinary revelations, epiphanies and visions which are usually once-off,
unique and discontinuous, but also the ordinary events of day-to-day life which acquire
an on-going continuous significance, in so much as they are interpreted in theistic
terms...This much wider concept allows so-called mystical, peak or ecstatic experiences
to be treated as sub-categories of religious experience in general.
(Emphasis as appears in original. Fitzgerald in Braun and McCutcheon 2000, 126)
Philip Tite also notes that at times in religious study, there can be ...a tendency to ignore
experiential moments that are not believed to be 'supernatural' or 'special' in some sense. This
can occur to the extent that [e]veryday experiences that real people have are ignored... (Tite
2013, 9).
The term mundane ecstasy itself is naturally oxymoronic. However, this is exactly the
point. Widespread focus on more dramatic forms of ecstasy has pushed mundane ecstasy to the
sidelines. It is possible that spectacular moments are more likely to lead to religious adaptation
than their mundane counterparts, and this is likely why mundane ecstasy as been ignored. It is,
simply put, less effective. An individual who collapses into a fit speaking tongues has certainly
made more of an impression than one who relates the events of a strange dream. The former
individual is thus more likely to attribute their experience to a higher power (and convince others
to do so as well) than the latter who will probably face accusations of having invented the dream
or have the ecstatic moment attributed to something they ate so close to going to bed. While less
effective, instances of mundane ecstasy should not be ignored; they are just as important as their
spectacular counterparts and, though not as often, are certainly capable of leading to religious
change.4 Whether such change occurs depends upon the reactions of the experiencer and those
around them in deeming the ecstatic moment as authentic and valid.
4 See the case study on Shembe below wherein the moment which served as a catalyst for change was a dream had
by Londa Shembe involving G-d, his father, and his grandfather.
2.2 Authentication and Validation

After an individual whether a member of clergy or a key figure of the community has
an experience which can be determined as ecstatic it must be authenticated for any religious
adaptation to occur (though authenticity alone does not guarantee change, as will be discussed
below). Authentication of an ecstatic moment requires both the experiencer and those who hear
of the experience to agree that the experience itself was a real occurrence: that is to say, that it
did happen and is attributed to a higher entity. Essentially, authentication requires those involved
to believe that the experience wasn't made up by an experiencer seeking to push their own ideals
forward, contrary to what is believed to be the wishes of the higher power around which the
religion is centered.
However, not all who are aware of the ecstatic moment need necessarily authenticate it
for change to occur. It is certainly possible that skeptical adherents of a religion (or outsiders)
may dismiss the declarations of an ecstatic experience as lies or false claims being made to
advance personal goals. However, if enough adherents authenticate the experience, it may have
the potential to further receive validation and thus initiate change which allows for religious
adaptation, regardless of the views of skeptics.
Authenticated experiences may either be validated or invalidated. While authentication
indicates that it is accepted that an ecstatic experience occurred and that this experience is the
work of some higher entity or power, validation affords the experience an opportunity to create
change. A valid experience is one in which the higher power responsible for the ecstatic moment
is identified as a positive power (ie: G-d, benevolent ancestral spirits); invalid experiences are
attributed to negative powers (ie: the devil or evil spirits). An experience must be authentic if it
8

is to be valid, but authentication alone does not guarantee that an experience will be validated.
Moments which are validated may result in religious change (and subsequent adaptation) as
followers take the message it provides to heart. Moments which are invalidated cannot institute
change as potential followers would not judge the message as truthful. Rather, it might be
believed that following such a message would lead one astray, away from religious fulfillment.
To understand the dynamics of authentication and validation we can take a brief look at the
founding event of Islam.
2.2.1 The Night of Power and Excellence: A Brief Case Study

It might be said that Islam began with a vision received by Muhammad in his early
forties. Having visited a cave north of Mecca, Muhammad was faced with a vision of the angel
Gabriel commanding him to recite what would become the 96th Sura of the Qur'an. Following
his experience with Gabriel, Muhammad related the event to his wife, Khadija.
Both
Muhammad and Khadija authenticated his experience that is to say that both attributed the
experience to a higher power and believed it to be an event that did, in fact, happen. However,
initially only Khadija validated this experience by attributing it to Allah. Muhammad, on the
other hand, did not validate his experience. Rather he seems to have been in doubt about
whether the voice he heard really came from a heavenly messenger or from a mere jinn. 5 (Noss
1999, 535)
Had Khadija and Muhammad's other friends not continued to insist upon the
validation of his experience (thus leading him, in time, to validate his own experience), it is
5 Jinn are, essentially, evil spirits. During Muhammad's time, it was believed jinn influenced the likes of
soothsayers and poets whom Muhammad loathed.

possible that Muhammad would never have continued to recite the messages he received from
Gabriel and Islam would not have been established.
2.3 The Experiencer

At this point, is useful to digress and examine the individual who claims an ecstatic
experience, referred to throughout this paper as the experiencer. As mentioned above, the
experiencer might be a member of the clergy or a key figure of the community; while any
individual may have an ecstatic experience, only those who fall into one of these two categories
(clergy or key figure) is likely to have an experience which will result in religious adaptation.
Members of the clergy can most effectively alter the direction of a religious order. They
have already gained, at at least one time, the support and trust of their adherents who have
chosen (during their initial joining of the religious movement) 6 to follow them as a religious
and/or spiritual leader because they agree with the teachings presented. 7 Clergy members also
stand the most to lose when disagreement stirs between the teachings of the religious movement
6 Children are not necessarily included in this statement. Under the age at which their culture deems them
adults children often choose to follow the religious tradition of their parents because that is what they have
been brought up to do. Upon reaching adulthood, children shift in their decision making process, making
choices suited to their individual needs, wants, and personalities. At this point they may choose to truly join a
religious movement or leave based upon their greater understanding of their own personal values and ideals
gained through their own experiences, education, and choices.
In keeping with the case study of this chapter surrounding the birth of Islam, let us briefly examine Muhammad's
religious convictions prior to his vision on the mountain. David Noss notes that [h]e began by sharing the
religious beliefs of his community...but as he came to maturity he more and more looked upon the Meccan
religion with a critical appraisal born of questioning and distaste. (Noss 1999, 534)
7 Of course, in the case of cults or alternative religious movements which may brainwash adherents, this line
grays a little. None-the-less, brainwashed adherents still agree with the messages being presented by the clergy
which they are following and if they ever become disenchanted with those brainwashed teachings may choose to
leave the religious movement having no longer aligned their beliefs with those of the religion.
10

and the changing ideals of congregants. If the teachings of a religious movement remain static
and thus begin to diverge from the altered ideals and values of its adherents, the congregation
will begin to dwindle as practitioners look elsewhere for a religiously fulfilling experience which
aligns to their personal beliefs. This threatens the job, livelihood, and power status of clergy
members.
Despite this, members of clergy are at an advantage when faced with growing disparity
between their teachings and their adherents. As discussed, clergy members have already secured,
the support and trust of congregants. It is likely that ecstatic experiences by clergy members will
readily be accepted by adherents who have already determined that the clergy member is
trustworthy, would not lie about such experiences, and is unlikely to be swayed by negative
forces. In a sense, the ecstatic moments experienced by clergy members are already assumed to
be authentic and valid by loyal adherents. As a result, adherents are likely to accept and follow
the messages received by a clergy members in an ecstatic experience trusting that doing so will
lead them to religious fulfillment (whatever form this may take for them personally).
As mentioned in the introduction of this paper though, members of clergy may not have
an ecstatic experience or they may have an ecstatic experience which their congregants may
decide not to deem authentic or valid. At this point, disharmony between the teachings of the
religious movement (as outlined by the higher power of influence through the clergy) and the
ideals and beliefs of the adherents is not resolved. If this disharmony is strong enough to drive
members of the congregation elsewhere, it may come to pass that a key figure of the community
will have an ecstatic moment facilitating this shift away from the religious movement with which
11

there is disagreement.
The qualifications of a key figure are somewhat general. First and foremost they must
be members of the religious tradition from which a separation is being attempted. I may walk
into any church (or temple, or mosque, or shrine, etc.) and claim an ecstatic experience (which I
may firmly believe to be authentic and valid) contradicting the teachings of the church which I
have entered, but it is highly unlikely that any of the church members will authenticate my
experience, let alone validate it. I may believe that the practices of a community to which I do
not belong should be changed but, as an outsider, the community is highly unlikely to recognize
me as someone with the authority or right to call for change no matter what my ecstatic
experience has revealed to me.
Second, a key figure would be one who is respected. This does not necessarily mean that
the individual should hold power within the community, as there are plenty individuals of power
who have gained for themselves no respect and equally as many individuals of no power who
have amassed great respect in the world. Rather, the individual should be influential within the
community. Perhaps they are a model adherent of the religion (an individual of strong faith
would certainly not be expected to lie about an ecstatic experience to advance their own desires,
nor would they be so likely as to succumb to negative higher powers which would detract them
from living religiously correct lives). Perhaps they possess natural leadership skills or prized
characteristics (humility, intelligence, honesty, dedication, etc.). Perhaps they are very articulate,
strong public speakers who are gifted with the ability to sway an audience with words. Whatever
affords them respectability in the eyes of their peers, key figures can use it to establish credibility
12

for their ecstatic experience.
Additionally, it can't hurt for key figures to be able to exert influence over other key
figures in a community. In order for an ecstatic experience to catalyze religious change, others
must be convinced of its validity. 8 If several key members of a community accept the validity of
an experience it is more likely that they can influence others within the community to validate
the experience as well. Certainly it is possible that the support and validation of enough of the
less-influential members of the community can still result in adaptation, but this process may be
slower or less effective.
Once an ecstatic experience by a key figure of a community has been authenticated,
validated, and affected religious adaptation (perhaps resulting in the separation of congregants
from the religious tradition with which they disagreed to follow the key figure in question), it is
likely that this key figure will, in effect, become the clergy of the resulting community.
Another brief glance at the establishment of Islam provides an example: Muhammad
(living a life of poverty, but as a member of a clan which shared the office of trustee of the
Ka'ba, its idols, its Black Stone, and the nearby sacred well... (Noss 1999, 534) with the
Quraysh9) was a key figure in his community. His uncle was influential (indeed, serving as his
protection from the Quraysh as Muhammad began to openly preach Islamic teachings), his first
wife, Khadija, was wealthy and successful, and his best friend (and eventual successor) Abu
Bakr was a member of the Quraysh tribe as well as a merchant (affording him prestige).
Following the validation of Muhammad's ecstatic experience among the influential individuals
8 Remember: as defined in this paper, validity inherently indicates authenticity. Experiences must be authenticated
to be validated.
9 A powerful tribe in Mecca at the time
13

surrounding him, his followers broke from the established polytheistic tradition which no longer
aligned with their beliefs and placed Muhammad as the head of their new religious path.
Thus the position of experiencer comes full-circle. While a key figure may be the
experiencer whose ecstatic moment catalyzes change, they may find themselves the clergy of the
resulting adapted religious structure. Future ecstatic experiences are afforded almost instant
authentication and validation by congregants who, by leaving their former religious tradition to
align themselves with this new movement, have indicated their trust in their new leader.
2.4 Sanctioned Ecstasy

The last facet of the religious ecstasy as religious adaptation theory is sanctioned ecstasy.
In the most basic terms, this deals with the approval of religious experiences though it is not
quite the same as authenticity and validity. In many ways, sanctioned ecstasy is the result of
interactions between clergy (or those individuals holding higher positions of power within the
religious institution) and their congregants (especially the key figures as identified above).
While some established religions may encourage religious ecstasy, others may feel the need to
extinguish ecstatic experiences in its followers to maintain its predominance. Such traditions
recognize that religious ecstasy is tricky: while it may indeed encourage the authenticity of the
religion, ecstasy may also be used by those who experience it as a way of separating from the
religion and its established principles through the formation of a separate movement. 10 A
10 Lewis mentions the history of Christianity which affords innumerable examples of separatist sects [which
employ possession as a supreme religious experience] struggling to achieve an independent existence but held in
check through their persecution as heresies (Lewis 2005, 115-116)
14

religious movement which does not sanction ecstatic moments in its adherents has the greatest
potential to quell the validation of ecstatic experiences by key individuals which may lead to a
division of the community. In addition to having a nearly unquestioned pass on the validity of
their own ecstatic moments, the power to sanction ecstatic moments experienced by others is one
of the greatest tools by which a member of clergy may maintain their position of power in a
religious movement.
How does this work? In discussing ecstatic dancing in the early days of the Christian
church, Barbara Ehrenreich makes the following observation:
...the Church was determined to maintain its monopoly over human access to the divine.
If religious dancing became ecstatic dancing and the stories...suggest that it sometimes
may have then ordinary people might get the idea that they could approach the deity on
their own...without the mediation of Catholic officialdom.
(Ehrenreich 2007, 84)
In this brief but meaningful excerpt can be found the two crucial factors which lead to the
establishment of sanctioned and unsanctioned ecstasy: individual access to the divine, and
mediation through clergy. As will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapter, ecstatic
experiences have long been used, in a religious context, by members of clergy to mediate
interactions between religious practitioners and the higher power to which the religious tradition
answers to. However, as Ehrenreich indicates, ecstatic moments also allow one to claim an
individual connection with the higher power which provides validity for statements made or
actions done which may contradict established orders. A hierarchical structure like the Christian
church has several reasons for discouraging such experiences: by limiting the personal access to
G-d allowed to individual adherents, the church allows for greater control over the religious
experiences of its congregants. Practitioners must go through the church to have a relationship
15

with G-d as individual relationships garnered through religious ecstasy would not be
sanctioned.11 Such a policy towards individual ecstasy makes the process of experiences being
deemed both authentic and valid (for, as discussed, experiences may be deemed authentic, but
the work of the devil not of G-d) by individuals who are not clergy far more difficult. This slows
the expansion of traditions into numerous sects and may prevent the a tradition from shifting
towards popular views, and thus may actually speed the overall decline of the faith.
When a member of a religious tradition has an unsanctioned moment of ecstasy, they
have had an ecstatic experience which was not, for lack of better term, allowed to them and
approved by the clergy. It may be that ecstatic moments which are unapproved for the general
congregation are approved for members of clergy. Ehrenreich notes that ...[in] Paul's home
congregation...tongue-speaking [was] restricted to leaders like himself and the speaking in
general left to male members of the group. (Ehrenreich 2007, 71) In this congregation then,
tongue-speaking by general adherents was not sanctioned, though tongue-speaking by clergy
was: ecstatic experiences of the general community were not valid while those of the leadership
were.
While ecstatic experiences which are not sanctioned may be less likely to receive
validation (though they may be authenticated), it is not impossible. The trouble lies in combating
the established notion that such unsanctioned ecstatic moments are not the result of positive
higher powers which has been perpetuated throughout the religious movement by those
individuals of power within the tradition.
Established religious orders are then faced with a predicament where their founding
11 Lewis, again, elaborates on this point by stating that Inspiration then becomes an institutionalized property of
the religious establishment which, as the divinely appointed church, incarnates god: the inspired truth is then
mediated to the masses through rituals performed by its duly accredited officers. In these circumstances
individual possession experiences are discouraged and where necessary, discredited. (Lewis 2005, 118)
16

beliefs are based upon an experience of religious ecstasy which cannot be recreated in its
followers lest the religion's influence be undermined rather than confirmed. Yet, by failing to
allow for changes in their structure, these religions can become obsolete. They may be deemed
archaic, old-fashioned, or outdated and eventually discarded when their dogma no longer
conforms with the current culture. At this point, religious ecstasy allows individuals to facilitate
the emergence of a new religion, or a new form of an old religion, which has been adapted to and
is functional in the current cultural setting as long as these individuals are able to convince others
of their experience's authenticity and validity. Denominations and sects of major religions often
arise through an individual whose views ran counter to those of the established religion in
question and were confirmed by a personal ecstatic experience.12
12 One might begin to see this as a cyclical pattern in which ecstatic experiences establish the basis of a religion,
which, when outdated, is replaced by a new form of the same religion more adapted to the current times
established by the ecstatic experiences of another individual
17
3. Ecstatic Religion in a Historical Context

While this paper has thus far discussed religious adaptation in relation to such factors as
technological advances and scientific inquiry, it is important to note that religious ecstasy has
been utilized throughout religions across the globe as a way for religious leaders to establish
credibility within their following directing the religion's practices in particular directions as
was seen fit. Furthermore, religious ecstasy has always been susceptible to the opinions of
adherents who have always had the opportunity to declare ecstatic experiences they viewed as
contrary to the direction in which the religious movement should be going (so as to align with
popular norms and ideals) as invalid. This chapter illuminates some examples of the use of
ecstatic experiences in a more historical context.
3.1 Ancient Greece

The religion of ancient Greece provides a unique take on religious ecstasy.
Greek
religion was highly localized within each Greek city, known as a polis, which was religiously
distinct from its counterparts. This distinction went as far as to limit religious participation in the
city to citizens foreigners, if allowed to take part in the religious community, were limited to
doing so with the assistance of a citizen acting as an intermediary. Polis-based religion was a
concept so firmly established that even abroad, Greek cities singly set up sanctuaries that
belonged to them and were 'their' polis shrines in a foreign land. (Sourvinou-Inwood in Buxton,
2000, 17) Cities formed individual religious systems which interacted to form a more complex
18

system as a whole.
Despite the polis-centered religious structure, all Greeks identified as members of one
religious movement. However, the varying facets of this movement were emphasized differently
throughout Greece.
The G-ds and G-ddesses worshiped were agreed to be the same, but
individual cities may choose to focus on specific deities deemed more significant to that area or
on specific attributes of a deity than may have been emphasized elsewhere. In essence, worship
and modes of worship were tied to location even during the transfer of a shrine or temple as
land changed possession from one hand to another, it was expected that (as far as possible) the
new owners would continue to allow the religious practices which had been established prior to
the change of ownership (Sourvinou-Inwood in Buxton 2000a, 18).
In some ways, it might be said that the religious structure of Ancient Greece was
particularly susceptible to the approval of its adherents. Sourvinou-Inwood noted that the duties
of a priests were determined and controlled by an individual city's sovereign authority and that
relationships between man and G-d (Sourvinou-Inwood in Buxton 2000b, 40) were established
by the community. In many ways, Greek Religion was inherently tuned to popular opinion as
popular opinion was its structuring entity. Furthermore, priests and priestesses were by no means
exempt from scrutiny once placed into office in Athens at least they were subject to
performance evaluations individually as well as as a group wherein they had to account for their
actions taken in their position (Sourvinou-Inwood in Buxton 2000b, 41). This scrutiny could
even extend to an individual being placed on trial, and it is noted that the appearance of women
in court often featured a priestess (Connelly 2007, 217).
19
Religion was, in effect, almost

completely regulated by the polis.
While oracles may have been sought out for advice on actions to be taken, 13 the
possibility of declaring an oracle invalid or unauthentic was very real and sometimes exercised to
great extent. Indeed, several individuals or forms of divination were unapproved and identified
as suspect. Thus, any failures can be explained through the incompetence or fraud of particular
diviners. (Parker in Buxton 2000, 80) As it relates to the theory proposed in this paper, such a
declaration attacks the authenticity of the diviner in question. Once an individual diviner's
authenticity has been rebuked, they have lost their status and become religiously obsolete no
longer to be trusted. They are replaced with a diviner deemed authentic, whose experiences are
valid, and the structured system continues without collapse. This is not to say that the general
populace was always told what they wanted to hear, however the occurrence of an unfavorable
response was rare. Providing an unsatisfactory divination required inscrutable objectivity to be
demonstrated on the behalf of the oracle and even at such times unsatisfactory answers may be
ignored. It was not uncommon for questions to be asked multiple times or for satisfactory
answers to be obtained through threats and bribery. Carefully worded questions can further
result in the absence of a socially unacceptable verdict (Parker in Buxton 2000, 79) and
animals may continue to be sacrificed until the answer one seeks is found.
Approved oracles were selected by the populace which, by and large, already controlled
the established religion it was a society that otherwise lacked authoritative religious experts
and institutions (Parker in Buxton 2000, 84) as nearly any individual could be placed into
13 While not an established leader or clergy, oracles always had an appropriate ecstatic experience at an
appropriate time as they rarely, if ever, did so unsolicited. Thus, ecstatic moments by an oracle, in a way, were
demanded by popular need of them.
20

religious office by the public.14 Thus, in the established religion of Ancient Greece we find that
key figures need not necessarily have their own ecstatic moments to initiate religious adaptation
in absence of such an experience by clergy.15 This does not necessarily mean that any individual
could claim an ecstatic moment and expect change to follow. Certainly, only ecstatic moments
by select individuals (chosen by the community) were sanctioned 16 approved oracles were
generally believable17 as long as they were approached correctly, but an unlicensed oraclemonger, as Robert Fowler (in Buxton 2000, 323) puts it, would be quickly thrown to ridicule
with no hope of authentication. Indeed, the religious network established seemed to serve as a
way to, most commonly, confirm popular opinion rather than be confronted by it truly affecting
affairs contradicted its purpose. In some ways, religion was established as an almost always
readily given stamp of approval for nearly any endeavor: in choice of a bride, in establishment of
new shrines and temples, in the approval of projects, in passing judgment on the actions of
others,18 and so on and so forth. The only topics which seemed not to be addressed towards the
oracle were those topics too closely associated with politics perhaps in fear of a negative
response. Even in these cases, Parker notes that anthropologists doubt that on important issues
men [would have]allow[ed] divination to stand in their way. (Parker in Buxton 2000, 105)
14 In her examination of Grecian priestesses, Joan Connelly notes that most often people assume no training was
necessary for an individual to hold religious office. She argues instead that, in a culture where daily life and
religion are so closely entwined, individuals were prepared for cult responsibilities as part of their preparations
for life in general. (Connelly 2007, 29) The only true qualification may be a certain level of status held by the
individual and their family, but even this is not necessarily accurate in all cases the priestess of Delphi was a
woman plucked from the peasantry, not selected from the gentry.
15 In a way, since any individual might be selected to fulfill a priestly position, there aren't key individuals at all
16 This is an instance where sanctioned ecstasy is determined almost exclusively by the populace rather than the
clergy.
17 Though, as discussed, they were not inscrutable
18 Parker relates the declaration by the oracle that the Ionian revolt [was] a wild venture in which it was best not to
be involved. In doing so it was echoing the view of many mainland Greek states, including perhaps the one to
which this answer was made. (Parker in Buxton 2000, 99)
21

Ancient Greek religion was a system which recognized the relationship between popular
opinion and religious direction. While deference was certainly granted to priests and priestesses,
no individual was above reproach. Because individuals were replaceable by almost any other
member of the community, as quickly as authentication and validation had been granted it could
be removed. As a result, those holding religious office found it well within their best interests to
provide the answers that wanted to be heard and to give undesirable proclamations rarely and
only for very good reasons. In such a system, the entire religious structure was not necessarily
susceptible to deterioration through popular irrelevance, but individuals within the structure were
certainly at risk of being deemed unfit or obsolete if they could not conform to the societal
expectations of their position.
3.2 Shamanism
Shamanism is not necessarily an extinct form of religious structure, unlike the practices
of Ancient Greece described above. Nonetheless it has been included in this section of historical
case studies as it is a structure which has become far less common than it once was.
Furthermore, it should be noted that shamanism is not unique to only one culture or geographic
location.
The word itself may be applied to individuals of both sexes across the world.
However, for the purposes of this paper, there is not enough time or space to individually
distinguish the multitude of cultures which utilize a shaman in their religious practices. Rather,
let us take the entity of a shaman as a whole applying the theory of religious adaptation
22

through religious ecstasy to the referent19 of a shaman.
In order to do so, we must first define what constitutes as a shaman. For our purposes
we will adopt the definition of a shaman which I. M. Lewis utilized in his text, Ecstatic Religion:
A study of Shamanism and Spirit Possession which has already been quoted in this paper. Lewis
defines a shaman as an inspired priest (Lewis 2005, 43) at the most basic level, but adds other
caveats throughout his discussion of what qualifies one as a shaman. He goes on to note that he
views that for the vocation [to be] normally announced by an initially uncontrolled state of
possession: a traumatic experience associated with hysteroid, [and/or] ecstatic behaviour...[is] a
universal feature in the assumption of shamanistic roles... (Lewis 2005, 48) Furthermore, he
agrees with other scholars (notably Raymond Firth) that shamans are possessed voluntarily in
controlled circumstances.20 (Lewis 2005, 49) Thus, for one to qualify for our (and Lewis')
purposes as a shaman they must meet the following criteria: shamans must have experienced a
form of traumatic, unwelcome ecstatic experience.
Upon learning to control such ecstatic
moments to the extent that they are able to enter states of possession and ecstasy voluntarily,
shamans then act as inspired priests in their community. Let us now examine shamanism as it
pertains to the theory of religious ecstasy as religious adaptation.
Prior to revolutionary technological advances, religious practices still formed around
societal needs. Indigenous tribes combined these two demands (the needs of the community and
19 Linguistically, referent is a term in semantics which indicates the thing or entity to which a word refers to
or represents while sense is an individual instance of a referent. Our first sense of a shaman may be the
image a miko of Japan or a Native American medicine man. Referents include all instances of the term (both the
miko and the medicine man, along with any other individuals which would qualify as a shaman). (Ohio State
University, 2011)
20 Noss also acknowledges that shamans were in control of their own ecstasy stating that In general, the belief is
that the shaman...possesses the power to make contacts in the spirit world, including communion with the spirits
of the dead, and thus gains otherwise inaccessible information... (Noss 1999, 12)
23

the need for religious structure) in the role of the shaman. The culture of these societies was
based upon their precarious situation: survival was a difficult process obtained only by the
balance of several tasks (the consuming of food, the act of hunting, the need to regulate
resources, etc). Shamans, therefore, were designated by the community to be responsible for the
adherence of these taboos. They were thereby enabled, through spiritual possession and ecstatic
rituals, to religiously question individuals or the community as a whole when survival was at
stake.
By claiming the use and assistance of religious ecstasy, the shaman's verdict and
questioning was not generally contradicted and was widely held as authentic and valid, so long
as their actions were believed to be beneficial to the community. If a shaman's practices were
seen as contrary to the tribe's motivations, a new shaman was then instituted. Indeed, to even
become a shaman, one had to display credibility in the form of affliction valiantly endured and,
in the end, transformed into spiritual grace. (Lewis 2005, 60) Thus, we understand that
shamans were continuously chosen because they had been subject to an experience of religious
ecstasy the community had deemed authentic and valid enough for their spiritual, societal, and
cultural needs.21 The position of shaman may be denied on grounds of validity. Though
authentic, the community may claim that the candidates ecstatic moment was the result of
demons or other malevolent spirits rather than the guardian spirit or accepted higher power of the
community (Lewis 2005, 124).
In this way, the religious presence of a shaman is not unlike those of the oracles and
diviners in Ancient Greece discussed above. The needs of the society determined the validity of
21 Later in Lewis' study, he applies this idea to other religious structures when he states possession is now the
idiom in which those who contend for leadership in the central religious life of the community press their claims
for recognition as the chosen agents of the gods. (Lewis 2005, 119)
24

a shaman's ecstatic moments.
Just as in Ancient Greece, when a diviner's response was
unfavorable to those who heard it, authentication could be stripped and the diviner accused of
prophesying self-serving claims, contrary to the benefit of the polis.
Shamans were also
expected to conform, to some extent, to the desires of the tribe which they served. Should the
tribe seek shamanistic counsel, the response given should be, to some degree, expected by those
seeking information.
Once the counsel provided ceased to be viewed as beneficial or
conforming, the shaman's ecstatic moments were no longer authentic and the shaman was
replaced with another. Authenticity is based on the fickle beliefs of adherents. Shamans, as
Lewis states, are only 'possessed' when they consider they are, and when other members of their
society endorse this claim or indeed initiate it. (Lewis 2005, 57)
Shamans may also be sought to mitigate moral disputes, acting as censors of society.
(Lewis 2005, 122) Any misfortune of the natural world (such as famine) may be attributed to
societal disharmony, and shamans were expected to provide the source of contention through
communication with governing spirits (in some cases ancestral, at others natural). In their state
of possession, shamans are afforded the ability to [embody and give] expression to the
sentiments and opinions of the people in his area. (Lewis 2005, 123) In essence, a shaman may
enter an ecstatic state wherein he claims the cure for misfortune to be just what society expected
it to be. Even in the larger political matters of the tribe such as disputes or matters of succession,
the shaman delivers messages and guidance which are very properly sensitive to public
opinion. (Lewis 2005, 123) Shamans who have fallen from grace may be transformed in the
eyes of the public from shaman to witch.
25

While shamans may serve as conflict mitigating judges for disputes between leaders of
their individual tribes or societies, it is also certainly possible that the role of societal and
spiritual leader would be combined in a shaman. In such instances, the efficacy of a shaman's
ecstatic moments is particularly highlighted.
Political advancement is achievable through
shamanistic prowess and thus the authority of a village headman may...depend upon his being
the senior spirit medium in his village. (Lewis 2005, 125) Moving up in such a society could
be obtained through one's establishment as a shaman and the production of divinations which
were popular by the members of a society, upon whom one's validation rested.
Sanctioned ecstasy was also as much a part of shamanistic traditions as it is elsewhere.
As discussed, not just anyone could become a shaman and ecstatic experiences which could
excite potential leadership and societal change could be limited to only those who qualified for
them. Particularly, shamans are primarily expected to be men in most cultures. 22 Possession or
ecstasy experienced by women may be interpreted as illnesses caused by malevolent, intrusive,
foreign spirits... (Lewis 2005, 124). In such instances, the ecstatic moments of these women
were authenticated but labeled invalid the work of negative higher powers. Unsanctioned
ecstasy, however, was more than a way in which those in power maintained power. It was also a
means by which the underprivileged could better their own situations.
3.2.1 The Manipulation of Unsanctioned Ecstasy

Which members of a society were 'permitted' valid ecstatic moments is usually common
22 The miko (priestesses) of Japan, considered by some (including Lewis and Noss) to qualify as shamans, serve as
one exception to this standard.
26

knowledge to those members of the society itself. By taking advantage of unsanctioned ecstasy,
members of lower status are able to better their own situations. Shamanistic societies often
associated sickness (in addition to natural calamities like drought) with disapproval from the
higher entities and powers which governed the society as a whole. There was a prominent link
between physical ailment and spiritual matters. Likewise, when a case of unsanctioned ecstasy
emerged it was attributed to maleficent spirits and thus seen as a sickness to be cured by the
shaman.
Again, this paper is not concerned with whether experiencers were truly possessed or not.
It is only concerned with the beliefs of the experiencer themselves and those around them. In the
context of women and other oppressed members of such societies as being discussed in this
section, we find a manipulation of unsanctioned experience.
Women who come to be possessed may begin to make demands in the name of the
possessing entity controlling them.
Such demands may contradict established orders (in a
direction which would be favorable to the possessed) this cannot be allowed by individuals of
power. As such, the ecstatic experience of the woman cannot be sanctioned it is not possible
for her to have been possessed by the correct higher powers which generally command the
doings of the community.
Such unsanctioned ecstasy is then easily invalidated: while the
community (and the woman herself) may believe she is possessed (and thus her experience is
authentic), it becomes easy to associate her possession with negative forces in the form of evil
spirits. Often, a spirit blamed would be a sar, a particular form of spirit characterized by greed
desiring expensive finery or foods.
27

By providing the woman (and, by association, her possessing sar) these items, the evil
spirit may be, in essence, bribed to leave the woman resulting in her cure. Upon the exorcism
of such demons, the woman remains blameless for whatever costs may have been incurred upon
her husband or other male relatives as all members of the society believe such spirits to attack
without regard for the victim in particular that is to say that anyone is subject to such
possession, one does not necessarily attract such entities on any moral grounds. 23 Such
manipulation of unsanctioned ecstasy provides a less blatant way for women to advance their
own aims and desires in a society where they are otherwise relegated to an inferior status. As
Lewis states, such instances of possession protect women from the exactions of men, and offer
an effective vehicle for manipulating husbands and male relatives. (Lewis 2005, 26)
3.3 The Development of Abrahamic Traditions

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all identified as Abrahamic traditions by most.
Each is agreed to have stemmed, ultimately, from the religious experiences of Abraham. To
adherents, Abraham may be identified as a singular individual though some scholars such as
Noss choose to view Abraham as an eponymous figure (i.e., one whose name represents a group
23 Lewis points out in his chapter entitled Affliction and its Apotheosis:
Since they are so pointedly indifferent to human conduct, it would be reasonable to suppose that these
unpleasant spirits would be quite indiscriminate in their selection of human prey. This, however, is far from
being the case. Contrary to what might be expected, they show a special predilection for the weak and the
oppressed. We should be wrong, however to leap immediately to a pessimistic assessment of the workings of
providence in these cases. For as we shall see, it is often precisely through succumbing to these seemingly
wanton visitations that people in such adverse circumstances secure a measure of help and succor...
(Lewis 2005, 64)
28

of ancestors)... (Noss 1999, 375) instead. Whether Abraham refers to one person or a group of
people is not relevant here. For our purposes, we will refer to Abraham in the singular (as a
he) for the sake of simplicity. We will briefly examine the formation of two of these traditions
and examine the ways in which religious ecstasy facilitated the emergence of these religious
traditions. The emergence of Islam was already dealt with (albeit briefly) earlier in this paper.
For the purposes of space, it will not be reintroduced. The decision to focus exclusively on
Judaism and Christianity also stems from the fact that the latter of these two emerged directly
from the former on the basis of the message of ecstatic experiences by its founder, Jesus. 24 This
section is only concerned with the emergence of these traditions and does not focus on later
events throughout their history as, for each of these traditions, such a history is extremely
extensive and cannot be outlined with due credit in the span of this paper.
3.3.1 The Establishment of Judaism

The religious structure of the society from which Judaism emerged was primarily
polytheistic in nature. Members of a desert community assigned special significance to stones
and pillars as landmarks. These entities were identified as sacred and may serve as the place at
which religious events took place or as the homes of deity figures. Furthermore, water sources
such as wells and springs were given religious significance as were groves of trees for such
24 Though it is important to note that Islam emphasizes the teachings of Jewish prophets as well as Jesus. Indeed,
the angel Gabriel is a figure of significance in Christianity and is said to be the medium by which Allah delivered
his first messages unto Muhammad. In particular, both Abraham and Jesus enjoy a high degree of respect in the
Islamic faith, and Islam is seen as an extension of these traditions Muhammad being the last in a series of
prophets which began with Abraham delivering a message from G-d (the same G-d of the Jewish and Christian
faiths).
29

things were rare in the desert. These gifts of the desert were naturally seen to be provided by
appeased G-ds or spirits who could take such gifts away upon being angered. Negative spirits
and powers were associated with the dangers of the desert including both living (including most
notably snakes and wild beasts like wolves and panthers, alongside birds of prey) and abstract
(such as the sand-storm bearing wind) entities.
Faced with constant dangers and a harsh
environment, desert dwelling peoples benefited from close relationships with G-ds who could
provide for their safety and survival (such as by providing water and shade, as mentioned above).
As people began to seek increasingly intimate relationships with deities it became the
practice of some to begin to curtail the number of G-ds with which the community was
associated.
It is difficult to maintain intimate relationships (relationships likened to those
between the people of a tribe in the presence of a chieftain or, more intimately, like that of
children before a father. as Noss describes it on page 375) with a large pantheon of deities.
Thus, peoples began to associate their relationships with the divine as relationships between
themselves and one G-d or, at most, a select few G-ds. Such is the beginning of the Abrahamic
story.
The tribe to which Abraham belonged is agreed to have resided in Ur but migrated to
Haran where they stayed for some period, though the timing of this move is difficult to place.
Haran was was located in the northwestern region of The Kingdom of Mari which was in a state
of tension, on the verge of attack from the east by Akkadians and by Hurrian hordes from the
north. The result was an unstable, troubled location away from which many were migrating,
heading towards the south. Abraham's tribe also sought to participated in this southward fleeing.
30

It was at this time that Abraham had an ecstatic experience (though the exact nature of this
moment is unclear, Noss merely identifies the moment as a personal religious experience on
page 376 without further illumination).
In keeping with the practices of other desert dwelling tribes, the group to which Abraham
belonged also sought a closer relationship to a deity which may protect them. In addition, there
was needed justification for escape to the south. Both were found in the deity which Abraham
identified as El-Shaddai with whom he had his ecstatic moment. Wishing to migrate south,
Abraham was encouraged by El-Shaddai to do so with the promise of a permanent home in
Canaan.
In this way Abraham's ecstatic experience satiated the needs of the community.
Guaranteed escape from the inevitable turmoil in Haran and the gift of land in Canaan, the
community would surely validate Abraham's experience which bore with it the possibilities of a
respite from their troubles. Thus, putting faith in Abraham (and, by extension, his experience
with El-Shaddai) the tribe followed him south to Canaan.
The name for El-Shaddai which is recognized more readily is Yahweh. This name was
not introduced until the time of Moses, many generations after the ecstatic experiences of
Abraham. The entity which identified itself to Moses did not give the name El-Shaddai rather
providing the name Yahweh, which is the name Moses passed along in delivering his message to
Egypt. However, it did claim to be the same entity which had visited Abraham generations
before.
The descendants of Abraham's tribe had by now migrated further south to escape a
famine, following Abraham's grandson Jacob. Eventually, they arrived in Egypt (following the
31

events of the story of Joseph) where they were, in time, enslaved. As Noss notes, their freedom
required one of two events: a catastrophe overwhelming Egypt or a leader arising in their own
midst to rescue them from their plight. (Noss 1999, 376)
Thus, when such a leader emerged it is no surprise that their experiences were eventually
authenticated and validated by the enslaved nation. Whether or not Moses truly encountered
visions of a burning bush and a calling from G-d to return to Egypt after fleeing years earlier
(having killed an Egyptian citizen) is, again, not important. What is crucial to understand is that
Moses, at the very least, claims to have had such an experience and he is believed by the
community whom this ecstatic experience benefits.25 The needs of the Jewish community were
recognized in Moses' ecstatic moment and so it was authenticated and validated. However, for
the Egyptians such an experience was completely contrary to the needs of the populace.
Naturally, then, the ecstatic moment which Moses claimed would never be authenticated or
validated by Egyptian listeners. The acceptance of Moses' message by those it benefited (and the
rejection of it by those it didn't) culminated immediately in the Jewish exodus from Egypt and a
period of wandering in the desert, eventually terminating in the formal establishment of the
Jewish tradition with Moses' ecstatic experience on the mountain, receiving the Ten
Commandments.
25 The discerning reader may recall that, in section 2.3 it was discussed that in the absence of clergy, a key figure is
the individual most likely to have a validated religious experience. Moses is not exempt from this, for in some
ways he was a key figure. If the stories are to believed, Moses was raised by his own slave mother when she was
brought by his sister Miriam to Pharaoh's daughter shortly after she drew Moses and his basket from the Nile.
Once grown, he was returned to Pharaoh's daughter where he lived as a prince of Egypt.
Moses then was in a unique position having been brought up in both the home of his people and the home of the
governing power giving him loyalty and personal interest towards both. He was known by the nation as
prince, but furthermore was recognized by the workers through his enslaved siblings (who were individuals of
note within the community) as one who escaped slavery.
32
3.3.2 The Establishment of Christianity

The religious world in which Jesus emerged was one in which Jews eagerly awaited the
arrival of the Messiah a prophet who would announce the arrival of G-d's kingdom (a time of
peace and prosperity). Many at this time felt that the coming of the Messiah was near at hand
and were anxious for the new order which it would bring. As Noss notes, From his youth on,
Jesus was under the influence of the hopes raised by it, so he was responding normally to his
environment... (Noss 1999, 451). It should not be surprising, then, that the arrival of G-d's
kingdom was central to Jesus' message as it was the news the populace wanted to hear.
Jesus had his initial ecstatic experience immediately following his baptism by John in the
river Jordan. As he emerged from the water, it is said that he witnessed a splitting of the
heavens, the arrival of the Spirit, and a voice proclaiming him to be G-d's son and chosen one.
Following this experience, Jesus is said to have gone into the wilderness where he determined
what should happen next. It was upon his return, moving into Galilee, that Jesus began to
proclaim his message of the imminent arrival of G-d's kingdom gaining his first followers: two
sets of siblings Simon Peter and Andrew and James and John.
The Kingdom of G-d was an age which was anticipated by all, so it is unsurprising that
Jesus' claims of its imminent arrival were accepted by nearly all who heard him. He proclaimed
exactly what the populace longed to hear, and further he provided instruction as to how they
could prepare themselves for the arrival of this momentous and long-awaited time. What's more,
the ecstatic experience which provided authority to his claims not only predicted the coming of
the Kingdom of G-d, but indicated that these predications also came from the mouth of G-d's
33

son.26 As Noss relates:
It was almost an obsession among the greater number of unhappy Jews of Palestine,
and it was a large factor in the lives of the Jews who lived abroad. Not to believe it was
unreasonable. In a world where the concept of social evolution and progress did not
exist, and where faith in G-d's direct intervention in human affairs was unquestioned, no
pious mind among the Jews doubted that G-d was soon to work his deliverance, just as
he had in the past when his people were suffering beyond endurance.
(Noss 1999, 451)
However, this message was not just received with enthusiasm by Jews who desired to
hear their salvation was coming. While preaching what all Jews of the time longed to hear, Jesus
also sent a message to others who had, in the past, found themselves generally excluded. The
coming kingdom, he claimed, was open to everyone. All who repented had a place in the world
to come, including outcasts, prostitutes, and all manner of sinners not solely the Jews for
whom such messages usually concerned exclusively.
Thus, not only were the ecstatic
experiences of Jesus validated by the Jews, but also by virtually all members of the community
even those who had not previously sought religious fulfillment in Judaism or its teachings.
While in the early days of Jesus' movement, his experiences were validated and his
teachings amassed followings of enormous sizes such that he was limited to speaking in open
fields and, in at least one instance, was in danger of being crushed by the masses (escaping into a
lake on a boat while his followers listened to him from the shore) this widespread support did
not last. His teachings, which had provided exactly the message of hope most of the public had
been waiting for, were not satisfactory to everyone it was especially offensive to the Pharisees
(arguably the religious authority of the time). The portion of his message which had attracted the
26 Jesus' message was three-fold. Included in his proclamation that the new kingdom was coming and how to
prepare for it was also his claim of being G-d's son. Validating his experience thus mandated the acception of all
three of these claims. Perhaps it was thought that if the first two tenants of his message must be true, it stands to
reasons that third could not be a lie either.
34

downtrodden that all who sought repentance would have a place in the coming kingdom
carried with it the notion that those religious leaders who had dedicated their life to G-d but felt
no need to repent were less likely to enjoy the coming paradise than their lowly neighbors who's
life up to that point had been a hotbed of sin. They also were particularly offended by his
reinterpretation of long established Jewish teachings, having a tendency to turn the
interpretations of laws on their head with a formula of You have heard that the men of old were
told...but I tell you... In time, his unpopularity with the authorities grew and the validation he
had earned began to be withdrawn by some. In a time where possession by evil spirits was a
common accusation for those who went against established orders, Jesus began to find himself
accused of possession by some as well including his mother and brothers. His experiences,
while authentic, were not believed to be the work of G-d, but rather an evil spirit or spirits. This
growing disapproval finally culminated in his execution by crucifixion.
Following the death of Jesus, it was the ecstatic experiences of his remaining followers
which finally established Christianity in its own right. These experiences began with individual
appearances of Jesus to disciples, who confirmed such experiences with each other, and then
culminated in the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Noss 1999, 461) which resulted in
all of the disciples speaking in tongues. Following this experience, the Apostles began to openly
preach the messages of Jesus once more and gathering a following who believed in the ecstatic
experiences of the Apostles validating them and the experiences of Jesus even after his death.
Though still adhering to many of the teachings of Judaism, the Apostles and their followers had
become something different forming a new religion around the teachings of Jesus.
35
3.4 The Merging of Religious Traditions

The last set of historical case studies we will observe focus on the unique phenomena of
merging religious traditions. History has shown us that as empires reach out to conquer and
dominate those societies along its borders and beyond, the culture of the dominating empire is
often imposed upon the dominated. This may even lead to a melding of the two cultures, much
as the Roman empire would absorb the particularly attractive or efficacious [deities]
(Ehrenreich 2007, 50) of its conquered nations into its own pantheon of Gods. 27 Certainly a
religion which cannot adapt to these outside influences successfully will lead many of its
followers to question its validity. For this section, we will turn to the east. While the adaptation
of religions to invading cultures has taken place among western religions (especially with the
spread of Christianity), it is important to note that this theory of ecstasy and adaptation extends
around the world. In particular we will examine the spread of Buddhism to China and Japan
where it was integrated into the existing local traditions.
It is important to understand the relationship between these two nations at this point in
time before proceeding.
The marked similarities between sophisticated and/or civilized
Chinese and Japanese culture is the result of a interactions between the two nations in the 1 st-6th
centuries C.E. It is understood that Chinese civilization and culture was quite advanced and,
upon interaction with Japan via merchants and traveling monks, was, in large part, imported.
Japan was, at that period of time, dwelling in a feudal way of life, and recognized that the
adoption of elements from the sophisticated Chinese civilization was a means of Japanese
advancement. While this included elements such as a writing system (adopted around the 4 th
27 We see this with the Egyptian g-ddess Isis, in particular, who gained an ecstatic cult following upon her
integration to the roman pantheon (Ehrenreich 1999, 50, 60)
36

century C.E.), religious practices were also transferred including traditions such as
Confucianism, Daoism, and, of course, Buddhism.
Buddhism itself is a religion which emphasizes the equality of all and as such does not
necessarily have, in its structure, clergy or key figures. All are considered to be equal and
traveling the same path towards enlightenment. In the branch of Buddhism we will primarily
concern ourselves with here (Mahayana Buddhism) the path towards enlightenment was not,
however, a path one must necessarily travel alone. Rather, there were bodhisattvas28 who could
offer guidance and assistance in the path to enlightenment. Such entities served as guiding
higher powers in Mahayana Buddhism. The bodhisattva entity was the primary means by
which Buddhism was adapted to local traditions, as we will discuss below.
In both China and Japan we see the emergence of Buddhism as a path already partially
explored. Both nations were introduced to Buddhism in such a way that it appeared as an
extension and elaboration upon the already present indigenous religious givens and practices.
This method of expansion, through the use of skillful means 29 and finding of common
ground, allowed for Buddhism to establish itself in these nations because it appealed to the
nation's peoples. This unique spread of Buddhism indicated an awareness of human nature in
that individuals are least resistant to change when it does not appear to be a major shift in the
established norms especially in regards to religious beliefs and practices.
Successful
integration into foreign religious structures requires the popular support of those to whom new
traditions are being introduced. The people of the area importing these new traditions must
28 A so-called Buddha-to-be who postpones Buddhahood so as to help others achieve enlightenment

29 Skillful means is most closely representative of the notion of means to an ends in colloquial terms.
37

validate the experiences of the incoming religion's members in order to be willing to accept it
(in any form) into their own religious practices. By making itself recognizable in a foreign
land, Buddhism was able to establish itself on both Chinese and Japanese shores as an integral
and familiar religious practice observed by individuals both in days of old and the present.
3.4.1 The Emergence of Buddhism in China

Chinese indigenous religion was marked by a unique system of ancestor worship.
Unlike most traditions in which the deceased are acknowledged and remembered, veneration
for and worship of ancestors was the foundation of Chinese religious practices. Ancestor
worship was, in essence, the religion itself. Under this system, the deceased became part of an
ever-growing cosmic hierarchy. The most recently deceased member of a clan became the
junior most member of this strata and may be appealed to for guidance in personal or minor
matters. However, larger dynastic topics like harvest, enemy invasion, or victory in battle
would be addressed towards senior ancestors, dynastic and predynastic, those nearer the top of
the family tree, (Keightly 1996, 75) the upper most often being referred to as the High God.
As the pantheon of ancestors grew, the senior most ancestor, the High God, came to be
regarded as a cosmic figure and abstract notion in and of itself known as tian, or Heaven.
Unlike the Abrahamic understanding of Heaven, tian does not refer to a place, nor
necessarily to an individual, but rather to an abstract concept of moral order and authority,
Also indigenous to China is Daoism and Confucianism.
Daoism, put simply,
considered the way of things, and/or that which is naturally so, 30 and the goal of immortality
30 This leads to the assertion that the dao is omnipresent.
38

(or: long life without death). Daoism emphasized that the practice of non-action as willful
action is selfish action and therefore harmful. Confucianism emphasized the need for selfcultivation of moral virtues in the belief that doing so would lead to a moral social order.
Particular significance is given to the practice of humanity and benevolence as a means of
obtaining a state of being a gentleman.31
The native religions of China came into contact with Buddhism alongside Chinese
contact with Central Asia around the 2nd century B.C.E. With the introduction of Buddhist
traditions came various disparities between practices. While Buddhism emphasized notions of
karmic rebirth and renunciation of the world as a means of cultivating non-attachment to obtain
freedom from suffering, indigenous Chinese religions emphasized the ever growing pantheon
of ancestors and filial piety. One was not reborn, and upon one's death one was turned into
[an ancestor and] stripped of their individual personalities. (Keightly 1996, 73) Ideas such as
nirvana, enlightenment, non-self, rebirth, and karma were unknown.
To counteract these differences, Buddhism was presented as an extension of the current
indigenous belief system already in place. Disparities, such as those listed above, were settled
with the notion of skillful means. Buddhists claimed that the Chinese understanding of religion
was merely a starting point to an understanding of Buddhist religion under the precept that
those just starting on the path are taught not the ultimate truth, but temporary formulations
that will allow them to advance to a point where they will be able to see the purpose of earlier
stages. (Amore and Oxtoby 2010, 206) This understanding did not imply that native Chinese
31 A gentleman was considered to be, in Confucianism, the ideal or exemplary person. For Daoist this individual
would be a Daoist sage or a perfect/true person who was spontaneous and in harmony with the Dao. (Tokuno,
Lecture slides, February 11, 2011)
39

religions were wrong, but rather that they were in place as preliminary teachings to Buddhism.
Of these religious doctrines, Daoism most closely resembled Buddhism. Daoist ideas
of an ever-changing world coincided with Buddhist teachings of impermanence. The Buddhist
notion that human beings suffer because they fail to realize that all things change [and their
desire for] consistency [leads them to think] their hopes are betrayed when they fail to find
stability in a world that cannot offer it (Mizuno 1987, 114) echoed the Daoist teaching that
action should be in harmony with the Dao which required an embracing of the naturally
changing world and an understanding that it is useless to hold onto this world of relativity and
change. (Tokuno, Lecture Slides, February 15, 2011) The idea of a Buddha nature within all
sentient beings and pan-Buddhism32 (Cook 1977, 92) can find a counterpart in the notion of the
immanent Dao and a the relatedness of [things, a dual relationship] of identity and
interdependence. (Cook 1977, 8) Furthermore, the notion of rebirth and nirvana could be
interpreted as an attainment of immortality if were extended beyond the permanent existence of
a physical body.
Faith and devotion to ancestors was reminiscent of devotional Buddhism.
While
devotion for bodhisattvas was different in that the ultimate goal was assistance in the next life,
the notion of consulting the deceased for guidance and assistance was one that could be
recognized.33 Furthermore, benevolence, humanity, and moral virtues were, and still are,
valued highly in both Buddhist and Confucian traditions.
What's more, practitioners of
Buddhism could seek the guidance of bodhisattvas just as the Chinese sought guidance from
32 Pan-Buddhism holds that everything is the Buddha, or that the Buddha is everywhere.
33 In this regard, skillful means emphasizes that a bodhisattva was an individual who lived on earth and, upon
death, resolved to help those still alive with their ultimate goal and that it is this state of being which people
should aspire to
40

their ancestors. As a means of allowing Chinese choosing to incorporate Buddhism into their
lives, Buddhists presented the notion of bodhisattva as the true nature of the guiding ancestors
to which Chinese religion had so closely adhered to. This allowed for the adaptation of
Chinese traditions to Buddhist norms without the destruction of the faith.
Connections such as these allowed Buddhism to be presented as the other half of the
Chinese religious coin. This method of introduction allowed for practitioners of Chinese
religions to adopt Buddhist practices without feeling as though they had abandoned their
traditional belief systems. While not all discrepancies could be addressed, most notably the
lack of emphasis on filial piety, and conflicts arose, it cannot be argued that Buddhism's
approach as a new religious system in China did not eliminate a large degree of potential
disputes.
3.4.2 The Emergence of Buddhism in Japan

As in China, Japanese native religion contained an aspect of ancestor veneration with
the belief that the spirits of the deceased, especially those of people who had lost their lives to
powers beyond their control (Amore and Oxtoby 2010, 341) would become angry and/or
vengeful. As a result, rituals including that of matsurau34 (Kitagawa 1988, 233) were of great
importance. One might serve the spirits of deceased ancestors by means of [offering] meals
and drinks to the visiting spirits and entertaining them as if they were alive (Kitagawa 1988,
234) and present in the room.
However, unlike in China, ancestor veneration was not they key element of indigenous
34 Meaning to be with, to attend to the needs of, to entertain, or to serve
41

religious practices, rather, traditional Japanese religion was built around the notion of kami, a
spirit or deity traditionally found everywhere. Kami were not just associated with tangible
earthly forms, of the over 80,000 different kami, some could be representative of the wind,
earthquakes, storms, and other natural phenomena, powers, and places (Amore and Oxtoby
2010, 335) as well as within the streams, mountains, and forests. Worship of kami allows one
to gain access to the life-energy that circulates throughout the phenomenal world (Amore
and Oxtoby, 336) which brings about growth, fertility, and production. (Kitagawa 1988, 233)
The whole of this belief system is known as Shinto.
Shintoism bore some marked differences to Buddhism upon its entry into Japan in the
mid 6th century C.E. Kami, while theoretically consisting of form,35 (Hori 1966, 16) were never
physically depicted in painting or sculpture and were associated with the natural world and
earth. They were evoked for assistance with various day-to-day needs and not for spiritual
guidance in regards to death and what follows.
In response, Buddhism was again presented as merely an extension of Shinto beliefs
under the heading of skillful means. In this instance, it was asserted that Japanese kami were,
in fact, the local manifestations of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, not necessarily separate
entities.
The most well-known of these is the kami Hachiman who was considered a
manifestation of Amida,36 another example includes the Kami Omiya...considered to be a

manifestation of Shakyamuni. (Pye 1971, 89) Even the dwelling places of the kami were
35 Ichiro Hori states that: More often than not, in ancient Japanese myths mountain deities are portrayed as
female. Hori goes on to discuss the possible correlation between this phenomena and an ancient belief in a
mountain goddess. This may also explain why, as mentioned before, kami are thought to bring about growth,
fertility, and production or, as Hori states in the sentence before, that mountains were believed to have a
mystical power to cause the birth or rebirth of human beings and animals. (Hori 1966, 16)
36 Also known as Amitabha, who is the principal Buddha in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism
42

incorporated into Buddhist teachings.37
Shinto was just as prepared to incorporate itself into Buddhism as well. 38 With the
notion that local kami were indeed manifestations of bodhisattvas, painted and sculpted images
began to take form. The kami represented may appear in traditional Japanese form or, as was
often the case with Hachiman/Amida, as a Buddhist monk. The coexistence of Shinto and
Buddhists practices is most clearly relayed in the story of the construction of the Buddhist
Todaiji temple, which states that before beginning construction, emperor Shomu sent a priest to
ask Kami Hachiman for approval to proceed with the project. Hachiman is said to have
approved and also demanded transportation to the construction site to ensure the cooperation
and assistance of the local deities. Even to modern day a shrine to Hachiman resides on the hill
overlooking the temple. (Amore and Oxtoby 2010, 340) The accepted authenticity and validity
of this event indicates the larger validity assigned to those who claimed a connection between
kami and bodhisattva.
The coexistence of these two belief systems was, and remains, such that it is not
uncommon to find a Shinto shrine located near or even on the same ground as a Buddhist
temple. Despite a period of Buddhist persecution by the Meiji government in an effort to
establish a kind of natural cult based on the emperor and his associations with various kami
and Shinto precedents (Amore and Oxtoby 2010, 357) and the notion of Emperor worship,
modern day Japan sees a harmonious existence of the two traditions in which individuals turn
37 Gas-san was considered the seat of Amida, Yudono-san the seat of Dainichi, and Haguro-San the seat of
Kannon. (Earhart 1965, 98)
38 As was the state of Japan. The Ritsuryo system of the 7 th-8th centuries and later Tokugawa regime held, as one of
its accepted principles, that Japanese deities were manifestations of Buddhas and bodhisattvas in India.
(Kitagawa 1988, 237)
43

to the tradition most appropriate for the given situation. Quite often, Shinto is turned to for
every-day needs while Buddhism is looked to for matters of death and beyond.
44
4. Ecstatic Religion in a Modern Context

The last chapter focused extensively on the use of ecstatic experiences in historical
traditions. The current chapter seeks to illuminate a brief case study of a modern context
which can allow the reader to understand the ways in which this process remains ongoing not
relegated to the history books. The case of Shembe is an interesting one combing aspects of
the previous chapters (the melding of two religious structures) as well as the adaptive nature of
religious ecstasy which can cause existing religions to change in ways approved by the
community.
4.1 The Role of Religious Ecstasy in Shembe

South Africa is a nation whose history is marked by intense political changes which
affected all spheres of life, including the religious front. Through the intervention of Dutch
colonialism, the establishment of Apartheid, and the current culture growing from its removal,
South African religious traditions continue to adapt and change with the country and its people.
The phenomena of the use of religious ecstasy as a means of religious adaptation will be
observed in its relationship to the religion of Shembe (also known as amaNazaretha) a form
of Christianity which emerged among the South African Zulu people in the 1930s.
Shembe is one of several so-called Ethiopian movements which began to spring up in
the 1890s as the result of a rising sense of inequality between white missionaries and their
black counterparts and a desire by native South Africans to take religious control of their lives
45

having obtained the Gospels (Vilakazi, Mthethwa, and Mpanza, 1986). Despite the fact that
most Ethiopian movements did not promote governmental disturbance or opposition, the
white-based government classified many of these movements as a potential threat (it is true
that some Ethiopian movements emphasized nationalistic policies) leading to conflicts between
these emerging traditions and the established government. Shembe was one of these traditions
which emphasized cooperation with the government but was none the less labeled a threat. It
emerged just shy of the establishment of Apartheid when the classification of South Africa and
its citizens reached a disturbing peak (Chidester, 1992).
The founder, Isaiah Shembe, grew up in a traditional Zulu society.
Born to a
polygamous family, he grew up to be a Don Juan in his own right and eventually married four
wives of his own. None of these actions were viewed as negative by Zulu culture, however
Isaiah found himself discontented and even depressed having several dreams wherein it was
indicated to him that his way of life was wrong.
Later, when Shembe encountered a
missionary and the Christian faith, he found that which he had been looking for and established
himself as a religious leader. Shembe's steps towards religious leadership took place a time
when Zulu practices were falling apart due to interaction with Western civilization. It was
perfect timing. Shembe provided an alternative which aligned with western culture but did not
completely invalidate the Zulu heritage he had grown up in.
Shembe denounced some
traditional Zulu practices such as polygamy (which is generally frowned upon by Christianity
as a whole) and ancestor worship (identified as dangerously close to polytheism), but
continued to emphasize other aspects of Zulu culture which appealed to the masses: he was a
46

natural leader, incorporated dance and song (important aspects of Zulu culture) into his
religious movement, and otherwise acted in accordance with other Zulu customs. 39 Here we
see the use of religious ecstasy to adhere to the paradigm of a tradition in power (Christianity)
while still incorporating the customs and general ideals of the community (Zulu) resulting in
the establishment of the Shembe church. Years later, Isaiahs grandson, Londa also claimed to
receive a call to leadership through visions. However, these visions are not the same as those
experienced by Isaiah.
Whereas Isaiah was called by G-d, Londa claims to have been called in dreams by G-d
as well as his father and grandfather a hearkening back to some traditional aspects of Zulu
culture (ancestor worship). It is not just by the grace of G-d, but through the calling and
approval of his ancestors that Londa validates his leadership (Hexham, 2011).
This is
especially important as members of Zulu society found themselves at this time struggling to
reclaim a lost identity. By claiming an ecstatic experience which included not just G-d but also
ancestral figures, Londa reopens the door to traditional practices which Isaiah had closed. The
ecstatic experience facilitated the reemergence of ancestor veneration in a society which ad
previously utilized this practice to great extent and incorporated it into almost all aspects of
daily life. From here, the reemergence of other lost practices was also facilitated. Shembe is
39 Vilakazi relates the following anecdote:

He set himself up as a leader and did not refuse to accept the political and social powers and responsibilities
entailed in such a position. In that position he accepted gifts given to him by the people according to Zulu
custom, but like a good chief, he understood that these gifts were to be used, not for his own enrichment, but for
the benefit of the people. This is general pattern of Zulu political and social organization. The chief is entitled
to gifts from the people...and these gifts in the form of food are used to entertain the people as for example, the
chief's councilors and men who come to the chief...Shembe's gifts were not in the form of beer and food, but in
the form of money, and he gave them back to the people in the form of forty-three pieces of land and a trading
store which he left to the church.
(Vilakazi, Mthethwa, and Mpanza 1986, 30-31)
47

currently a religion which no longer prohibits polygamous practices in fact the sole limitation
instituted by Shembe is that both the husband and wife must agree on the matter of the
husbands taking another wife (Vilakazi, Mthethwa, and Mpanza, 1986). In this way we see
that the ecstatic moments of Londa allowed the shift of the church towards more traditional
customs and practices of the Zulu people without losing credibility.
Certainly, Shembe is a religion still undergoing its growing pains. It has existed for less
time than it is believed the Gospels were composed during which Christianity experienced
many changes. Despite this, there is a tendency by scholars to insist on viewing Shembe as a
tradition which is fully formed and mature (Noss, 2012). As its brief history reveals, Shembe
is still finding its niche among South African traditions. The changing classifications of people
from colonialism to Apartheid to post-Apartheid times forces Shembe to adapt to the changing
social environment it finds itself and its adherents to be in. These changes are mediated and
validated with the usage of ecstatic experiences, first by Isaiah to establish a church similar to
that of the Christian missionaries and then by Londa at a time when South Africans began to
hearken to their traditional ways. As the nation continues to settle out its social structure,
Shembe will continue to settle out its own place among society.
4.2 Brief Case Studies of Other Modern Examples

As mentioned in the start of this chapter, a variety of modern examples exist in which
the relationships between religious adaptation and ecstasy can be examined. For the sake of
48

space, this paper will not seek to go into further examples in great detail. The reader should,
by now, understand the interactions between ecstasy and adaptation well enough to apply them
to other religious movements which have not been discussed. However, a few additional
examples are expounded below in the briefest terms, though the reader is encouraged to
examine these case studies further on their own if they so desire.
4.2.1 The Case of Calvinism

As a slightly older case study, we may focus on the development of firearms, as
explored by Ehrenreich. Technological advances in military warfare produced such weapons
as muskets which required several minutes to reload and fire demanding military diligence.
Calvinism adamantly embraced these changes to gain a stronger hold on society and further its
agenda. The Calvinistic movement found that the thirty-two motions soldiers were required to
practice constantly eliminated the time soldiers had previously spent reveling. By seizing this
modern concept of continuous practice and diligence, Calvinism was able to institute in its
followers the notion of using their time wisely to better themselves educationally and to
contribute to society through work, rather than through ecstatic dancing and ecstasy. In this
way, Calvinism followed the mindset of the masses by encouraging and elaborating upon the
technological advances of the day while simultaneously withdrawing sanctioned ecstasy from
its adherents. When later Ehrenreich acknowledges the role this may (or may not) have played
in the seemingly growing epidemic of melancholy and depression, she mentions that many felt
a cure was the release of one's self conscious through ecstatic experiences. It is reasonable to
49

believe these experiences could, potentially, alter the Calvinistic way of living as people
allowed these opportunities for ecstasy back into the modern culture (once again changing an
aspect of the popular mindset).
4.2.2 The Case of Aimee Semple McPherson

In another interesting case study, we can look at the emergence of Aimee Semple
McPherson and her Christian church in the 1920's, as presented in Matthew Avery Sutton's
biography. McPherson, who found that the toils of a traditional wife and mother did not suit
her, sparked an Evangelical movement after experiencing what she believed to be the Holy
Spirit urging her to go and preach the word. While McPherson felt she was called upon by
God to battle the liberal trends enveloping Christianity (Sutton 2007, 11) and to restore
American churches to what she believed was their original and 'pure' form (Sutton 2007, 13),
she did so through modern means with the use of radio, television, and theatrics as opposed to
the strict use of speech-like sermons.
McPherson attracted her congregants by presenting herself as an individual who was
aligned with the modern culture40 (through the use of current technology and nontraditional
preaching methods, as well as her constant displays of patriotism) but also spiritually in tune
with her faith (having had several ecstatic experiences, including: speaking in tongues, contact
with the Holy Spirit, and the seeming ability to heal). Many of those who heard of Aimee were
drawn to her clear understanding of popular norms and culture, leading to mass validation by
40 It may be interesting to note that the current website for Angelus Temple even includes, in their brief description
of Sister Aimee, the acknowledgment that her Pentecostal approaches were modern and notably ahead of
her time.
50

new adherents. The popularity of her church, the Angelus Temple, continues today in part
because of the ideas she preached, but also because its message does not conflict with, but
rather embraces and continuously adapts to, the current technological culture and use of
popular mediums: lights, large viewing screens, even Twitter and Podcasts.
51
5. Conclusion: A Need for Religion

This paper has sought to outline the process by which religions evolve and survive or
die. In some of the most basic terms, the theory proposed is this: religion faces the constant
threat of being found outdated by an ever changing society whose views and norms are
continuously shifting. This shifting can put the ideals of the populace at odds with the
teachings of a religious tradition which must either accommodate these new views or risk
extinction. Religious ecstasy is the path by which these changes may take place. Religions
cannot exist or change without the use of ecstatic experiences as it is through these experiences
that they gain validity. Many religions are indeed established around the ecstatic experience of
their founder (the ecstasy of St. Paul and Jesus, the essential possession of Muhammad as he
encountered the angel Gabriel on the mountain, Abraham being called by God to leave his
homeland for one thereby promised to him and his descendants). As religions attract followers,
many may even encourage the ecstatic experience of adherents as proof of the religion's truth,
what Gina Welch refers to as Feeling X which she states as being the thing that seized
people when they spoke in tongues or raised their hands in the air during church or decided to
come forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. (Welch 2010, 71) In her
experience, Jerry Falwell's Evangelical church relied upon the individual's similar experience
of religious ecstasy as proof of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, which could then be followed by a
full conversion to Evangelical Christianity a requirement for complete membership at the
Church.
Others may feel the need to extinguish ecstatic experiences in its followers to
maintain its predominance. Lewis points out that:
52

...all evidence indicates that the more strongly-based and entrenched religious authority
becomes, the more hostile it is towards haphazard inspiration. New faiths may announce
their advent with a flourish of ecstatic revelations, but once they become securely
established they have little tie or tolerance for enthusiasm. For the religious enthusiast,
with his direct claim to divine knowledge, is always a threat to the established order.
(Lewis 2005, 29)
Though this need not always be the case.

If, then, the ideas presented in this argument are true: that religious ecstasy is indeed
necessary for the continuation of individual religions and the religious experience as a whole
because it serves a catalyst by which individuals may facilitate the evolution of a religion to
ensure its adaptation to the constantly changing culture and mindset of the masses, then we must
ask the question why. Surely, civilizations in the modern world could potentially be capable of
functioning without religious structure.41 It must then be understood that human nature demands
religious structure and thereby employs religious ecstasy to ensure its availability.
In Ann Taves' approach to the study of religion and religious experiences, she claims that
individuals choose to attribute religion to experiences which may otherwise be explained. She
asserts that these experiences deemed religious are thereby the basis of religion itself, which
has been created as a result of rituals connected to special objects and taboo practices.
Surely, then, if what Taves says is true, the conscious designation of experiences as being
religious or not religious shows, at the very least, an openness to religion itself. If one knows
they are merely attributing religion to something, yet continues to do so, then they must clearly
feel a need for religion to function in their lives or they would otherwise attribute something else
to their experience. What is referred to at the beginning of this paper as a desire for religious
41 And certainly, some members of society do choose to live perfectly content lives as agnostics or atheists
53

structure and purpose is therefore the motivating factor behind the utilization of ecstatic
experiences. These experiences enable the continuation of whatever an individual or society
seek from a religion. This may include a moral code, protection from a hostile environment, or,
as Welch mentions in her memoir, group therapy in the guise of sermon...community [one]
could always count on to be happy to see [them]...friends... structure...[and something] to look
forward to.42 (Welch 2010, 303)
As a result, it can almost be seen as human nature to evoke the use of religious ecstasy
when the societal norms and cultural influences appear to contradict a religion's teachings,
making it incompatible with modern living. Not only is religious ecstasy the means by which
the religious experience is continued as a whole, it is also the means by which the human race
clings to and protects its own primal need for the existence of a higher guiding power.43
42 It is interesting to note that it is these aspects of the Evangelical church which Welch admits to missing the most
after once again returning to her analytical, atheist lifestyle and belief system. One could say this reasonably
demonstrates the inherent desire for religious structure and function, even in individuals who find they do not
believe in a higher power.
43 Ehrenreich elaborates on the primal evolutionary role of religious ecstasy when she postulates the idea that the
earliest forms of dance and ecstasy were used to encourage humans to live in groups larger than small bands of
closely related individuals so as to better defend themselves against predators (Ehrenreich 2007, 23)
54
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Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Whereas women were formerly

Those faiths founded upon patriarchal beliefs must then

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

2. Facets of Religious Ecstasy

2.1 What is Ecstatic?

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

2.2 Authentication and Validation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

2.2.1 The Night of Power and Excellence: A Brief Case Study

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

2.3 The Experiencer

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

2.4 Sanctioned Ecstasy

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

3. Ecstatic Religion in a Historical Context

3.1 Ancient Greece

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religion was, in effect, almost

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Upon learning to control such ecstatic

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Just as in Ancient Greece, when a diviner's response was

Shamans were also

Once the counsel provided ceased to be viewed as beneficial or

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Political advancement is achievable through

3.2.1 The Manipulation of Unsanctioned Ecstasy

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Such demands may contradict established orders (in a

Such unsanctioned ecstasy is then easily invalidated: while the

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

3.3 The Development of Abrahamic Traditions

(Lewis 2005, 64)

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

3.3.1 The Establishment of Judaism

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Faced with constant dangers and a harsh

It is difficult to maintain intimate relationships (relationships likened to those

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation

3.3.2 The Establishment of Christianity

Religious Ecstasy as Religious Adaptation