How do psychologists view religious experiences?
It depends on the individual psychologist, as well as the individual patient. A lot of weight is given to the personal beliefs of the individual who had the experience. If that person doesn’t normally or didn’t previously believe in angels, spirits, ghosts, God, etc. and suddenly reported seeing them, that would be unusual. If the person has a religious background and has had an “encounter” once or twice, that is a little different. But even if a person isn’t religious, if they have had no delusions otherwise even a “religious experience” isn’t necessarily seen as a warning sign, as long as it isn’t accompanied by other more troubling hallucinations (visual, auditory, etc.). But if that person has a history of delusions, hallucinations, etc. that can change circumstances. So really it varies on a case by case basis. Each patient gets looked at individually, their past experiences and belief systems and what they’re experiencing, and of course it is slightly affected by the personal bia
