social welfare research institute The Sense and Sensibility of Religion: Retrieving Spiritual Experience as an Authentic Sociological Variable Paul G Schervish Presented at joint session of the American Sociological Association and the Association for the Study on Religion "New Theoretical Directions in the Sociology of Religion" New York, August 15-20, 1996 social welfare research institute boston college mcguinn 515 140 commonwealth avenue chestnut hill, ma 02467 tel: 617–552–4070 fax: 617–552–3903 email: swri508@bc.edu website: www.bc.edu/swri