History is littered with evidence of humanity's fascination with drugs and the pursuit of altered states. From early Romanticism to late-nineteenth-century occultism and from fin de si?cle Paris to contemporary psychedelic shamanism, psychoactive substances have playedcatalyzing people. Yet serious analysis of the religious dimensions of modern drug use is still lacking. the use of drugs and the pursuit of transcendence from the nineteenth century to the present day. Beginning with the Romantic fascination with opium, it chronicles the discovery of anesthetics, the psychiatric and religious interest in hashish, the bewitching power of mescaline and hallucinogenic fungi, the more recent uses of LSD, as well as the debates surrounding drugs and religious experience. This fascinating and wide-ranging sociological and cultural history fills a major gap in the study of religion in the modern world and our understanding of the importance of countercultural thought, offering new and timely insights into the controversial relationship between drugs and mystical experience.

Auteur

Christopher Partridge is Professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Politics, Philosophy, and Religion at Lancaster University, UK. His research and writing focuses on alternative spiritual currents, countercultures, and popular music.

Contenu

Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Technologies of Transcendence 2. Opium Dreams ·3. Anesthetic Revelation 4. Hashishdom 5. Occultism in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 6. The Antipodes of the Mind 7. Revolution in the Head 8. Psychedelic Shamanism Index