Abstract
Miracles still play a role in religious tourism even though it is impossible to distinguish them as divinely inspired, rather than derived from ‘mere’ psychological causes. One might ask whether it matters to a religious tourist or pilgrim that the adoption of a religious attitude to the mysteries of miracles is not grounded in religious belief in the supernatural. Are religious tourists and pilgrims not just inventing comforting illusions in wilful ignorance?
This philosophical paper will relate a few examples of miracles; and explain how the experience of miracles is a subjective experience, and not an objective belief in a supernatural existence. However, any attempt to dismiss the ‘merely subjective’ experience of religious feeling misses the most critical point of religious experience.
We need not have to decide the metaphysical question of whether ‘miracles’ have a supernatural origin or are merely wondrous. These might be two languages for discussing the same thing. Both are true, depending on the perspective, which depends upon one’s purposes. It is not necessary to believe in the supernatural character of miracles to recognise that they trigger meaningful religious experiences.
These considerations, however, do not mean that one has subjective ‘free rein’ to believe in anything at all. There are constraints on what constitutes a meaningful, religious experience. The meaning of such experiences is grounded in shared social experiences and traditions; and thus, is not something an individual can idiosyncratically make up for themselves.
Supplied with a list of some of the contextual components that are conducive to creating religious experiences, pilgrims and religious tourists can consciously adjust their behaviour accordingly. Religious experiences are more likely to emerge when one seeks out the contexts where they are more easily realised.
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Recommended Citation
Haller, Stephen F.
(2025)
"Miracles Have Subjective Meaning for Religious Travellers, Even if They Are Not Supernatural,"
International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage:
Vol. 13:
Iss.
1, Article 15.
Available at:
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol13/iss1/15