Emotional Communion

The NY Times, Science Section reports today on a study regarding its own "most frequently emailed article" list conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

The researchers concluded that "awe-inspiring" stories were at the top of the most-emailed list.

"But in general, people who share this kind of article seem to have loftier motives than trying to impress their friends. They’re seeking emotional communion, Dr. [Jonah] Berger said.

“'Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion,” he said. 'If I’ve just read this story that changes the way I understand the world and myself, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe. If you read the article and feel the same emotion, it will bring us closer together.'”

In my estimation this study offers insight into Natural Religion rooted in exerience and emotion, a subset of a broad category of Religious Experience. Awe is one of the strongest manifestations of Religious Experience. Tellingly, when experienced, awe makes us want to reach out to others, "to proseltyze and share." I love the term "emotional communion."

Emotional communion, a unique gestalt of affirmation and connection, is at the center of Religion. Religious Experience compels us to reach out, to be understood and to understand: a deep kindredness.