On the Relation of Morality and Religion: Two lessons from James's Varieties of Religious Experience

Abstract

Drawing chiefly on the reflections of William James in his classic work, The Varieties of Religious Experience, this article explores the dynamics of a mutually enriching relationship between religion and morality, whereby the two domains animate and inform each other. James's work is explored to suggest the outlines of such a relationship, while recent studies of moral exemplars and the thought of Martin Buber are drawn upon to extend and deepen the discussion. The thesis is that the best of religion and morality can be found at the intersection of the two. Each is able to enrich, inform, and even correct the other, addressing distorting excesses to which each is prone.