Reflecting the pluralistic views of psychologist-turned-philosopher William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience posits that individual religious experiences, rather than the tenets of organized religions, form the backbone of religious life.

James's discussion of conversion, repentance, mysticism, and hope of reward and fears of punishment in the hereafter -- as well as his observations on the religious experiences of such diverse thinkers as Voltaire, Whitman, Emerson, Luther, Tolstoy, and others -- all support his thesis.

"The Varieties of Religious Experience is certainly the most notable of all books in the field of the psychology of religion and probably destined to be the most influential [one] written on religion in the twentieth century."
   WALTER HOUSTON CLARK, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY