Oxford University Press

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Mystical experiences of the natural world bring a sense of unity, knowledge, self-transcendence, eternity, light, and love. This is the first detailed study of these intriguing phenomena. Paul Marshall surveys and evaluates a wide range of explanations put forward by religious thinkers, philosophers, and scientists, and offers his own perspective...

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A common refrain against atheism and secular humanism is that without belief in        God, "e;everything is permitted."e; Walter Sinnott-Armstrong dismantles this argument        and argues instead that God is not only not essential to morality, but that our        moral behavior should be seen as utterly independent of religion. This...

Virginia's dissenters, primarily Presbyterians and Baptists, demanded religious liberty in return for supporting the American Revolution. The resulting negotiations not only brought Virginia, and America, religious freedom, but politicized dissenters and republicanized the polity. Importantly, dissenters demanded strict separation of church and...