This collection of excerpts discusses the study of religious experience, focusing on the individual's personal encounters with the divine or a transcendent reality as opposed to traditional studies centered on religious texts or institutions. Drawing on the ideas of William James and other scholars, the text highlights how religious experience involves unique feelings and perceptions beyond everyday senses, influencing believers in profound ways. It emphasizes that personal experience is crucial to understanding religious belief, often going beyond dogma and creed. The presented material also introduces a specific case study of "Brother Zhang" to illustrate these concepts, exploring how his personal encounters with a higher power have guided his life and spiritual development. This approach reflects a growing trend in religious studies to focus on individual narratives and subjective experiences within a social and cultural context.

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