RELIGION AS FEELING? (a phenomenological draft)
The article specifies religious feeling on the basis of qualitative distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive structures of consciousness: using examples of biblical and Talmudic extracts religious feeling is demonstrated in its special emotional traits – worldness, regularity, participation. According to author's opinion these traits create an effect of God presence (whereas general conscious traits of feeling and its mixture with thought is an effect of certainty). The traditional understanding of religious feeling as knowledge of God, image of God or the world disguised as this image is rejected. Such understanding should be comprehended in view of uncertain broadened epistemology that does not allow understanding the very quality of religion, stimulates only its strengthening. Theology, religious studies and religious postmodernism are proposed by the author as an example of such incomprehension. This religious feeling specification shows religion as a special sphere of clean consciousness. Thus religion can be considered as it is (in accordance with traits of consciousness), with a consecutive exception of non-religiousness.