Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre
Research
The function of the Religious Experience Research Centre is the study of contemporary spiritual and religious experience. It is situated at the Lampeter Campus, together with its archive of accounts of spiritual experiences and specialist library.
The Research Centre was founded by Sir Alister Hardy in 1969 as the Religious Experience Research Unit at Manchester College, Oxford. It moved to Lampeter from its previous home at Westminster College, Oxford in July 2000.
The Centre's aim is to study, in a disciplined and as scientific a manner as possible, contemporary accounts of religious or spiritual experiences and to publish its findings.
The Centre's findings are published in books, reports, articles, occasional papers etc. the most important being, The Spiritual Nature of Man by Sir Alister Hardy, Exploring Inner Space and Religious Experience Today by David Hay, The Original Vision and Living the Questions by Edward Robinson and A Sense of Presence by Timothy Beardsworth. These are obtainable by purchase, or on loan, from the Centre. A list of the books and occasional papers along with ordering information is available on the Alister Hardy Society website.
Research Projects completed or sponsored by the Centre include:
- Religious Experience as Liberation - Dr. David Hay
- Religious Experience in Childhood - Edward Robinson
- Religion and Values at 16 Plus - Edward Robinson & Dr. Michael Jackson
- Psychosis and Religious Experience - Dr. Michael Jackson
- Spiritual/Religious Experience in Modern Society - - Dr. Geoffrey Ahern
- Environmental Influences on the Nature of Religious Experience - William Ord
- The Relation of Functional Theology - Dr. Newton Malony
- Negative Religious Experiences - Dr. Merete Jakobsen
Current Projects/Initiatives include:
- A study of the common features and common outcomes of spiritual/religious experience across religious traditions.
- A study of the results of spiritual and religious experience.
- Educational programmes, and a programme of lectures and workshops across the UK which increase awareness of research into spirituality and religious experience.
- Running an MA course in Religious Experience in conjunction with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
- The Centre welcomes accounts of spiritual/religious experiences (however people define these terms). All accounts are treated in confidence. Give as much information as possible, including what you think might have led to and/or 'triggered' the experience(s), when (including date if possible) and where you had the experience(s) and how it/they may have affected you subsequently. Please include, also, some personal details, eg. about your age at the time, religious upbringing and affiliation (if any) and anything else which you might think relevant.
