The Modernist Interest in Mysticism. Friedrich von Hügel’s Contribution to the Discourse on ‘Religious Experience’ around 1900

The article analyzes from the case of Friedrich von Hügel what the special interest of Roman Catholic Modernism in mysticism was about. Different from major tendencies in modernist research, it places his work in the framework of the discourse on “religious experience” around 1900. This way it becomes visible that von Hügel’s account of mysticism was shaped to a great extent by scholars from a liberal Protestant background, such as William James, Rudolf Eucken, and Ernst Troeltsch. In engaging these scholars, von Hügel was able to develop his own concept of the “mystical element” of religion from the perspective of a Catholic believer. The case of von Hügel suggests that Roman Catholic Modernism in general should be studied more in connection with its scientific setting outside Catholic theology.