Altered states of consciousness (ASC) can be very profound and life changing experiences to the religious believer. For example, conversion, testimony, and revelation can all be seen within the context of ASC. An altered state is a subjective reality in most religious experiences and can be identified across all religions and cultures (Bowen, 1998). However, the psychological study of these seemingly important human experiences can be difficult. Even finding an agreed upon definition of ASC is challenging. Despite this challenge, in the scientific study of religion, ASC can be defined as experiences interpreted by the experiencer as an encounter with a reality that is other than ordinary (Geels, 2003). Using this definition, mystical experiences may be considered a type of ASC. For a religious believer, having an ASC or mystical experiences may be the defining moment for their understanding of and motivation toward life. Many of the world's religions are sustained by and even created...
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Randolph-Seng, B. (2010). Altered States of Consciousness. In: Leeming, D.A., Madden, K., Marlan, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_21
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