The publication of William James's "The Varieties of Religious Experience" in Russian translation in 1910 prompted a discussion in the journal "Questions of Philosophy and Psychology." Less known is the critical engagement with James's concept by academic theologians M. Tareev, P. Minin, and A. Tuberovsky. They used James's scientific confirmation of religious-mystical experience to address the challenge his pluralism posed: how to distinguish specifically Christian manifestations from the general diversity of religious experience, linking them to Christian teaching and action.
The influence of William James on Russian religious thought is well known, but the contributions of spiritual-academic scholars who developed their own concepts after encountering James's ideas remain underexplored. This encounter was prepared by academic science's interest in empirical psychology and by contacts with philosophers and psychologists from the Moscow Psychological Society. For academic theologians, James's scientific recognition of mystical experience provided support for preaching Christianity in a secular world while requiring them to distinguish Christian experience from other religions. The question of how personal religious experience relates to Christian social action further fueled their interest. The concepts of mystical experience by I. Popov and S. Zarin, previously unconsidered, show a gradual approach to issues legitimized by the 1910 Russian translation of "The Varieties of Religious Experience."