Food of the Gods?
Neil Carrier, Lisa L. Gezon
July 7, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003109549-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that anthropological and ethnobotanical perspectives reveal how psychoactive substances function within spiritual and religious systems, and that contemporary globalized and therapeutic uses reinterpret these traditions. |
Abstract
This chapter focuses on drugs in spiritual and religions contexts, considering their role in altered states of consciousness, divination and healing. The first part of the chapter presents the sub-discipline of ethnobotany and its contribution to anthropological ideas about hallucinogenic plant substances and their wider connection of drugs to shamanism and the spirit world. It also discusses contemporary interpretations of indigenous shamanic traditions in spiritual and religious movements. It focuses too on several drugs to exemplify anthropological approaches to their study: ibogaine, mushrooms, mescaline, tobacco and ayahuasca. Finally, it presents contemporary use of these substances, considering influences of counterculture movements, globalisation and colonialism. Examples include churches, such as Santo Daime and the Native American Church, and the new therapeutic use of such substances in ‘microdosing’ and mental health therapy.