Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

MUSLIM

156

MUSLIM. See ISLAM.

MYSTICISM. From the Greek mystes,
meaning, “one initiated into the myster-
ies.” Broadly speaking, a domain of expe-
rience of and reflection on the sacred that
involves affective and cognitive states that
are not empirical, or are not only empiri-
cal. While the term is sometimes used
disparagingly, it has a stable usage as
a legitimate, even rigorous study of reli-
giously significant states of consciousness

as demonstrated by, for example, Evelyn

Underhill’s classic study Mysticism (1911).

MYTH. From the Greek mythos, meaning

“legend.” The term usually refers to narra-

tives that are either not literally true or

not known to be true. In the twentieth

century when some theologians set out to

de-mythologize Christianity, they sought

to expunge from it stories of the miracu-

lous and supernatural.