Spiritual Origins of Hyperreligiosity: a Philosophical Analysis

Introduction. In the Western research field, the concept of “hyperreligiosity” is a set of characteristics, which is understood as the religious state of the individual as a psychiatric problem. Philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of hyperreligiosity helps to demonstrate the specificity of this issue, expand its horizons, and show that it goes far beyond the scope of psychiatric experience. The aim of the work is a philosophical analysis of the prerequisites for the emergence
and nature of the hyper-religiosity of the hybrid topic of spiritual deception.
Materials and methods. This study uses the methods of formal logic (description, comparison, classification, analysis and synthesis); phenomenological, systemic and axiological methods. The philosophical works of S. S. Khoruzhiy, in particular, his developments on the phenomenon of spiritual deception (hyperreligiosity) and its philosophical conceptualization, were used as a theoretical basis for the study.
Results. The importance of the mystical-ascetic experience of hesychasm lies in the fact that hesychasm is a spiritual organon — a repository of knowledge for the formation of a true and healthy religious experience and mentality. The phenomenon of hyperreligiosity is considered through the prism of philosophy, synergetic anthropology and the phenomenology of asceticism. The main reasons for the emergence of hyperreligiosity are analyzed. It was found that when the religious method is violated, an incorrect religious intentionality arises, which leads to various serious consequences.
The destructive properties of this phenomenon are shown both for anthropological reality and for culture as a whole.
Discussion and conclusions. Hyperreligiosity in the plane of philosophical analysis is presented not just as some kind of excessive tension, but as a specific distortion of religious experience. In the conceptualization proposed by the Russian
philosopher Sergei Khoruzhiy, which is based on the centuries-old experience of the Orthodox tradition (Hesychasm), hyperreligious consciousness is defined as a hybrid experience, or spiritual deception. The prevalence of this issue in religious culture indicates that the issues under consideration are relevant and vital in modern society.

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