William James believed that trying to limit God to a single religion would diminish God's nature. He felt that the divine presence could be experienced anywhere, rather than just in formal religious settings like churches. James argued that spirituality transcends any established religious doctrine. While organized religion provides structure that is needed for spirituality, aspects like repetitive prayer should not be empty rituals. Loyola encourages maintaining an intrinsic spiritual life through religious practices, but recognizing that God can be experienced in diverse ways.

1. PARADIGM 2
The first pathway described by William James which I feel can relate to my future in the
field of Pastoral Counseling is the pathway of the “Reality of the Unseen”. Although having
spent his life refusing to conform to one particular religion and/or framework of worship, it is
apparent nevertheless that James did maintain the belief in a Divinity of some kind. Perhaps that
by trying encapsulate God into one specific religion, it would invariably be at some of His
expense. Therefore, the most logical choice would be to not limit (or entrap) God to a single
religion. Through this “unlimiting” of the Divine, He no longer seems geographically distant,
(i.e. “all the way up there in Heaven, looking down on us…”). The Divine Presence can be as
close to anyone at any time in any place, (which re-affirms the power of omnipresence). Kevin
Gillespie described this as, “the existence of phenomena beyond the senses” (p. 15).
A part of our training in Counseling at Loyola is to be able to understand the client’s
sphere of beliefs from his own point of view. Another way to describe this skill is “theological
empathy”. At no point are we, as students, instructed to renounce our system of faith. Instead, we
are asked to broaden our own horizons in order to allow alternate perceptions of God to be
experienced by us. This does not mean that we would assimilate the beliefs of the client, simply
to allow for additional understandings of and relationships with the Divine.
The second pathway is that toward Spirituality. It has become a near stereotypical image
of a congregation member having “a religious experience” while inside a “house of God”, James
would argue that churches, mosques, synagogues, etc., do not comprise the limited number of
locations where the Divine may communicate with or allowed Himself to be felt. He believed
that the energy comprising the soul transcends the established doctrine of any specific religion.

2. PARADIGM 3
The truth is, however, that while organized religion seems to limit Divine power, certain
aspects of it are needed for any type of spirituality. James wrote, “prayer is no vain exercise of
words” … “[it represents] the movement of the soul.” This appears eerily similar to Matthew 6:7,
where Jesus advises against empty repetition.
Loyola encourages its student body to maintain an intrinsic spiritual lifestyle and faith
based community. While we may be learning that, to all of us, the face of God has infinite
variation, our own vision of Him must be continuously strengthened through the religious
practices which comprised the stepping stones leading up to our enrollment at Loyola. “For as
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26 King James
Version).

3. PARADIGM 4
References
Gillespie, K. (2003). William james's the varieties of religious experiences one hundred
years later: a paradigm of pathways for pastoral professionals. 22(1), 11-23.