INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN RELIGIOSITY AND RELATED CONSTRUCTS AFTER EXPOSURE TO MYSTICAL-TYPE EXPERIENCES

Abstract

The purpose of this correlational study was to find any relationship(s) between having a mystical-type experience (MTE) and its ties to intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, religion as quest, the quiet ego, compassion, hostility, narcissism, and death anxiety within college students at an American university in the Southwest. The current data demonstrates that MTEs trend towards a positive correlation for intrinsic religiosity. There are no statistically significant findings for extrinsic religiosity, religion as quest, the quiet ego, narcissism, compassion, hostility, and death anxiety, meaning that the current data does not yield any relationship between MTEs and these other variables. Due to a limited sample size, any potential trends cannot be stated with confidence. To conclude these findings, the limitations present within this study are detailed and the next steps for future research are discussed.