A religious experience is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of Western society. William James popularised the concept. In some religions, this may result in unverified personal gnosis.
Meditation
Sufi whirling
Three early Methodist leaders, Charles Wesley, John Wesley, and Francis Asbury, portrayed in stained glass at the Memorial Chapel, Lake Junaluska, North Carolina
The Buddha demonstrating control over fire and water. Gandhara, 3rd century CE
William James was an American philosopher and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the late 19th century, one of the most influential philosophers of the United States, and the "Father of American psychology."
James in 1903
William James in Brazil, 1865
Portrait of William James by John La Farge, c. 1859
James in a séance with a spiritualist medium