Josiah Royce, William James, and the Social Renewal of the “Sick Soul”: Exploring the Communal Dimension of Religious Experience
Religions September 27, 2024 Michael Andrew Ceragioli
This essay argues that Josiah Royce's communal model of religious experience, presented in The Sources of Religious Insight, complements rather than merely criticizes William James's individualistic account in The Varieties of Religious Experience. Rather than opposing the two thinkers, the author contends that James's concept of the "sick soul" finding health through religious conversion gains depth when paired with Royce's emphasis on overcoming alienation through communal participation. The essay suggests that bringing together these two models offers an instructive account of individual transformation through communal renewal, particularly relevant in times of dislocation and self-preoccupation.