Research Paper on:
William James' 4 Saintliness Criteria and How They Apply to 13th Century Poet Rumi

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
The specific constructs of religion can vary considerably both according to the culture, the time period, and the  individual. There has been, and continues to be, an controversial line of demarcation between religions. Despite the many parallels which can be noted in regard to ideologies, religions  typically are non accepting of other religions. This is particularly true in the turbulent time of our contemporary world. Islam in particular is a religion which today is  often viewed with contempt by other world religions. When we view religions from the perspective of their commonalties, however, we often find more similarities than differences. This is  even true of such diverse religions as Islam and Christianity. While a number of authors have written down through the ages on the importance of finding similarities between religions,  non have been more effective than William James book entitled "The Varieties of Religious Experience". James provides us certain unifying criteria in terms of religion which could even be  applied toward easing the widening gap between Christianity and Islam. An interesting test of this premise presents itself in regard to yet another book, Annemarie Schimmels "Rumis World".  William James lectured and wrote on what he referred to as "natural religion" in the early part of the twentieth century. First defining  "natural religion" as: "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so  far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine"