Continuing the passage on science and religion, consider the line: "Any religious experience, whether it is that of Christ or of Ramakrishna, is personal and _____." Choose the word that best completes the description of this kind of religious experience.

Introduction / Context:
This cloze test sentence clearly focuses on the nature of religious experience. In the passage, the author contrasts objective scientific work with personal religious insight. The blank appears in a sentence that describes religious experience as personal and something else. You need to select the option that fits both the philosophical contrast and the wording used elsewhere in the passage.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence: Any religious experience, whether it is that of Christ or of Ramakrishna, is personal and _____.
• The next sentence explains that science is marked by objectivity.
• The author emphasises that religion is based on experience and that science emphasises objective proof.
• Options: significant, irrelevant, subjective, objective.

Concept / Approach:
The key contrast in the passage is between subjective religious experience and objective scientific method. A personal experience is by definition subjective, because it is shaped by individual feelings and perceptions. Science, in contrast, aims for objectivity so that results do not depend on any one observer. Therefore, the blank should be filled with subjective, which directly states that religious experiences belong to the inner world of the individual rather than to shared, measurable facts. The other options either do not relate to this technical distinction or even clash with it.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the descriptive pair in the sentence: personal and [blank]. Personal already signals something individual and inward. Step 2: Recall that the passage describes science as marked by objectivity, and religion as based on experience, which the author wants to characterise as private and internal. Step 3: Evaluate subjective. This word is the standard partner of personal and is often contrasted with objective in philosophy and psychology. Step 4: Check significant. While religious experience may be significant, the sentence is not focusing on importance but on the type of knowledge, so this is not the best fit. Step 5: Check irrelevant. This is negative in tone and does not logically follow personal, nor does it match the overall respectful discussion of religious experience. Step 6: Check objective. The next sentence uses objectivity to describe science, so using objective here would blur the intended contrast and create confusion. Step 7: Conclude that subjective is the only option that both fits the phrase personal and prepares the way for the contrast with objectivity in the following sentence.

Verification / Alternative check:
Insert subjective into the line and read it with the next sentence: Any religious experience, whether it is that of Christ or of Ramakrishna, is personal and subjective. Science, on the other hand, is marked by objectivity. The contrast between subjective and objective is now very clear and sharply drawn. Substituting significant, irrelevant, or objective fails to produce this neat and meaningful opposition.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Significant talks about importance, not about the nature of knowledge. Irrelevant suggests that religious experience does not matter, which is not the author's point in this context. Objective directly contradicts the intended description of religious experience as personal and inward.

Common Pitfalls:
Some exam takers may be attracted to objective because they have just seen the word science in nearby sentences and remember that science is objective. However, cloze questions often test your ability to recognise contrast pairs. Whenever you see personal in a philosophical context, subjective is a very strong candidate, especially when objectivity is mentioned nearby. Watching for such standard pairs will help you select the most precise answer rather than a loosely related word.

Final Answer:
The correct word to complete the sentence is subjective, so we get: Any religious experience, whether it is that of Christ or of Ramakrishna, is personal and subjective.