ABSTRACT
Voices, or accounts of phenomena that bear at least some similarity to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs), are commonly encountered in the texts and traditions of most of the world’s major faith traditions. It is proposed that voices might be understood as one of the important “building blocks” of religion. Caution is urged concerning the dangers of jumping to premature conclusions about the nature of any historic human experiences of voice hearing that may or may not lay behind voices encountered in ancient texts. Distinctions are drawn between historic, narrative, theological, and psychological accounts of voices. Possible relationships between voice hearing and scripture are critically examined and examples of relevance are drawn from a variety of different religious traditions.
