Hasidism through the Prism of Psychedelics, Psychedelics through the Prism of Hasidism: A Case Study
Sam S. B. Shonkoff
Harvard Theological Review July 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s0017816026101266 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Neo-Hasidic Jews (non-Hasidic Jews drawing on Hasidism for spiritual-cultural renewal), examined through mid-1950s to early-1970s discourses and archival materials |
| Key findings | Argues that psychedelic studies uncritically adopts essentialized notions of "religious experience" long abandoned in religious studies, and that attention to hermeneutical dimensions of altered states would move research beyond perennialist paradigms. Through a neo-Hasidic case study, contends that Hasidic sources shape interpretations of psychedelic experiences and that those experiences in turn transform perceptions of Hasidism. |
Abstract
Abstract: Psychedelics have led neuroscientists and policymakers to employ lexicons of theology and spirituality, but scholars of religion have been strikingly absent from the conversation. Consequently, psychedelic studies draws uncritically upon classic essentializations of “religious experience” that academic religious studies abandoned decades ago for crucial phenomenological and ethical reasons. In particular, psychedelic research would benefit from paying more attention to the hermeneutical dimensions of altered states, which point beyond perennialist paradigms. This article presents a case study of neo-Hasidism (non-Hasidic Jews who draw upon Hasidism for spiritual-cultural renewal). Representations of psychedelics in neo-Hasidism reveal not only a great deal about the movement itself, but also about the interpretive interplay between psychedelic experiences and situated subjectivities. Drawing upon neo-Hasidic discourses from the mid-1950s through early-1970s, including unpublished archival materials, this article investigates how Hasidic sources impact interpretations of psychedelic experiences and also, in turn, how those experiences transform perceptions of Hasidism.