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Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments:
An Entheogen Chrestomathy
Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Paula Jo Hruby, Ed.D.
Author Index | Title Index
- Psychological Anthropology:
- An Introduction to Human Nature and Cultural Differences.
Bourguignon, Erika. (1979).
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
ISBN: 0-03-034921-4
Description: First edition,
viii + 375 pages.
Contents: Preface, 9
chapters, an overview and look ahead, references, name index,
subject index.
Excerpts: As we look
around, however, it is clear that altered states play an important
role in our own society as well. In the 1960s there were veritable
drug cults, many of which attached religious or mystical
meanings to experiences with hallucinogens. At the same time,
there has been a growth of new religions, as well as the revival
of old forms, in which emphasis was placed on more or less complex
altered states. Most prominent among these old forms have been
evangelical Christian groups emphasizing intense conversion experiences,
gifts of the spirit such as speaking in tongues (glossolalia),
and healing. Many of these practices have moved from backwoods
traditional groups and tent revivals to modern electronic missions.
The Catholic Church has seen the development of a Neo-Pentecostal
or Charismatic movement, and so have some of the Protestant churches.
A second type of religious group stressing and encouraging altered
states of consciousness has come from the Orient, from India and
Japan primarily. A third type has come from Latin
America: spiritism from Puerto Rico and various Afro-Caribbean
forms from Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad, and elsewhere. ...
The counterculture of the 1960s has gone, but the
interest in religious experiences and
in altered states has remained as its heritage, together with
a skeptical stance concerning rationality, technology, and a society
based on them. The skepticism has been reinforced by the energy
crisis and the scarcity of the 1970s. The traditional churches
have not filled the void, but electronic evangelism has done so
to a remarkable degree.
Weston La Barre has written
that religion is "the response of society to problems the
contemporary culture failed to solve." The flourishing of
the new and revived religions suggests the failure of other institutions
in our society to meet major needs of many people. (pages 267-268)
Compilation copyright © 1995 – 2001 CSP
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