Course Date: October 18 - December 6, 2026.
This course explores how religious and mystical experience can be understood in the modern world, with special focus on Said Nursi’s distinctive contribution. Bringing Nursi into conversation with modern philosophy of religion and Sufi thought, the course highlights his response to modernity, spirituality, and the search for transcendence.
Few concepts in modern intellectual and religious discourse are as fascinating and contested as “religious experience” and “mystical experience.” Despite the rise of secularism, scientism, and materialism, many people continue to feel inwardly drawn toward a transcendent mystery — what Augustine of Hippo once called “beauty ever ancient, ever new.”
This course explores the phenomenon of religio-mystical experience (RME) through the lenses of modern philosophy of religion, Sufism, and the thought of Said Nursi. While classical Sufism traditionally provided Islam’s richest account of inward spiritual experience, modern Western philosophy and psychology of religion have developed new descriptive, phenomenological, and explanatory frameworks for understanding mystical consciousness.
Special attention will be given to how Nursi reformulated and fine-tuned classical Sufi concepts in response to the intellectual and spiritual challenges of modernity. The course will place Nursi into dialogue with influential modern thinkers such as William T. Stace, John Hick, and Bernard Lonergan, while also examining the contemporary interreligious implications of his thought through the legacy of Fethullah Gülen.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Define and critically analyze the concept of religio-mystical experience.
Distinguish major modern philosophical approaches to mysticism.
Understand the essential historical and theological features of Sufism.
Explain Said Nursi’s reinterpretation of classical Sufi spirituality.
Compare perennialist, contextualist, and inclusivist theories of mystical experience.
Analyze the role of language, culture, and interpretation in religious experience.
Evaluate the relationship between mysticism and interreligious dialogue.
Assess the contemporary relevance of Nursi’s theology of spiritual experience.
The “Modern Approaches to Religio-Mystical Experience” course begins on October 18, 2026, and includes six live instructional sessions followed by an Assessment & Feedback Week. Live sessions are held on Sundays from 3:00 to 4:30 pm EST (9:00 to 10:30 pm CET), with the final assessment and feedback session taking place on December 6, 2026.
Week 1 – 18 October 2026 – 3:00pm EST
Defining Mysticism and Religious Consciousness
What is religio-mystical experience?
What descriptive features of mystical consciousness have modern philosophers and psychologists of religion identified?
How have modern thinkers attempted to explain mystical experience?
Topics include:
– ineffability,
– noetic quality,
– transcendence,
– phenomenology of religion,
– psychological and philosophical explanations of mysticism.
Week 2 – 25 October 2026 – 3:00pm EST
Islamic Mysticism and the Spiritual Path
How does the Sufi understanding of spiritual experience compare with modern philosophical approaches to mysticism?
What are the major schools and traditions of Sufism?
Topics include:
– ma‘rifa,
– dhawq,
– fanā’ and baqā’,
– love mysticism,
– major Sufi figures and traditions.
Week 3 – 1 November 2026 – 3:00pm EST
Nursi’s Life, Historical Context, and Philosophical Theology
Who was Said Nursi and why does his thought remain important today?
How did he respond to modern secularism, scientism, and materialism?
Topics include:
– late Ottoman and early Republican context,
– Qur’anic theology,
– divine names,
– causality and nature,
– faith and modernity.
Week 4 – 15 November 2026 – 3:00pm EST
Mysticism Without Withdrawal from the World
How did Nursi reinterpret classical Sufi spirituality?
Why did he criticize certain forms of excessive mystical withdrawal while preserving spiritual depth?
Topics include:
– contemplative reflection on nature,
– witnessing divine names in the cosmos,
– extrovertive spirituality,
– worship, weakness, and gratitude,
– differences between Nursi and classical tariqa-centered Sufism.
Week 5 – 22 November 2026
Comparing Nursi with William T. Stace and John Hick
Who are William T. Stace and John Hick, and why are their theories of mysticism influential?
This lesson compares:
– Stace’s perennialist theory of universal mystical consciousness,
– Hick’s contextual and pluralist interpretation of religious experience,
– and Nursi’s realist Qur’anic understanding of transcendence and revelation.
Topics include:
– universalism vs contextualism,
– interpretation of mystical states,
– religious pluralism,
– realism and anti-realism,
– culture and mystical language.
Week 6 – 29 November 2026
Bernard Lonergan, Nursi, and the Legacy of Fethullah Gülen
How can religio-mystical experience contribute to interreligious dialogue and global ethics?
What role did Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement play in implementing Nursi’s spiritual vision?
Topics include:
– Bernard Lonergan’s theology of religious experience,
– inclusivist approaches to salvation and truth,
– transcendental method,
– dialogue and compassion,
– Hizmet as a contemporary expression of Nursian spirituality.
Week 7 – 6 December 2026
Teaching Method
– Interactive online lectures
– Guided philosophical discussion
– Comparative textual analysis
– Multimedia presentations
– Reflection-based learning
Primary Figures
Suggested Readings
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If you need advice on our program or registration, please feel welcome to contact us.
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