Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
February 1, 2020
119 citations
Psychedelic cultures in the West often link inner consciousness with perceptions of extraterrestrial outer space. Terence McKenna, a key psychedelic thinker since the 1960s, synthesized ideas from esotericism, shamanism, and science fiction to build an occult theory called psychedelic ufology. This article argues that McKenna was deeply influenced by Carl Jung, and that this Jungian foundation shapes much of later psychedelic ufology.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
April 1, 1998
T. Miller
19 citations
A review of the edited volume 'Entheogens and the Future of Religion' (1997), which explores the role of psychoactive substances in spiritual practice and their potential to shape religious life. The book brings together multiple perspectives on how entheogens can be integrated into contemporary religious frameworks, examining historical precedents, ethical considerations, and future possibilities. The reviewer notes the collection's contribution to discussions on the intersection of altered states of consciousness and religious experience, but does not state a personal evaluation or finding beyond describing the book's content and scope.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
April 13, 2012
Esther Jean Langdon, Isabel Santana de Rose
17 citations
Guarani Indian leaders on the Atlantic coast of Brazil have incorporated ayahuasca, an Amazonian psychoactive ritual substance, into their own ritual practices, now recognizing it as part of their culture and tradition. This appropriation emerged from a network connecting the Guarani, members of Sacred Fire of Itzachilatlan, followers of the Brazilian ayahuasca religion Santo Daime, and a health team providing primary care to Indian communities. The case demonstrates that contemporary shamanisms arise from specific political and historical contexts, and that shamanism as an analytical concept must be understood as a dialogical category shaped by interactions among actors with diverse origins, discourses, and interests.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
February 1, 2011
14 citations
A short-lived spiritual movement known as the Acid Churches emerged in New York State during the 1960s, led by Dr. Timothy Leary. From 1963 to 1968, Leary and his communal group lived in Millbrook, New York, where these psychedelic religions gained brief cultural prominence. Negative media attention and a law enforcement crackdown, partly provoked by the leaders' increasingly provocative stance, forced the groups to flee the state by early 1968. The paper establishes the historical significance of these Acid Churches within 1960s culture and draws connections to today's Neopagan and New Age movements, as well as the modern scientific and therapeutic revival of psychedelic substances.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
February 1, 2018
4 citations
Timothy Leary's 1964 manual 'The Psychedelic Experience' adapted the Tibetan Buddhist concept of the bardo—the intermediate realm after death—to guide and regulate psychedelic trips. Although Leary's appropriation was problematic, this essay argues that his use of these Tibetan materials creatively reframed the intense, phantasmagoric experiences common to strong psychedelics. Drawing on comparative religion and secular psychology, Leary constructed a model of psychological transformation that rejected religious or transcendental meaning while expanding the bardo concept already present in Tibetan Buddhism.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
August 1, 2024
Brad Stoddard
1 citation
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive tea from Amazonian plants, is growing in popularity globally as people seek it for recreational, medicinal, psychotherapeutic, or spiritual reasons. Many travelers journey to the Amazon to find what they consider an authentic shamanic experience, encountering a diverse ayahuasca ecosystem. Historical and archaeological evidence indicates this diversity existed before colonialism, but tourists themselves now contribute to ongoing changes in the practice.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
February 1, 2023
Kelly E. Hayes
A review of Crockford's work highlights how her participant-observer approach, despite potential pitfalls and occasional divergence from her subjects' perspectives, successfully adds an intimate interpretive dimension to the study of contemporary New Age and alternative spiritual movements, offering insights not typically found in social science literature.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
May 1, 2022
Tarryl Janik
A book review describes Kathleen Bolling Lowrey's work, which uses disability theory and feminist scholarship to reinterpret shamanism across the North and South American Great Plains. Lowrey applies Eva Feder Kittay's concept of 'dependency work' to frame vulnerability as a universal moral relation, illuminating indigenous revitalization movements and ethnogenesis. The book counters a prior emphasis on masculinity in shamanism studies by highlighting feminist allyship and long-term solidarity with community members in difficulty.
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
May 1, 2022
Sarah Dees
Three recent books examine how the Kiowa people of Oklahoma adapted their religious and cultural practices under U.S. assimilation policies after the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty. Jennifer Graber's The Gods of Indian Country shows Kiowas selectively incorporated new rituals like the Ghost Dance and peyote while maintaining existing forms of sacred power. Benjamin Kracht's Religious Revitalization Among the Kiowas analyzes Kiowa adoption of Christianity, peyote traditions, and the Ghost Dance through anthropological theory. Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote's Crafting an Indigenous Nation explores how Kiowa expressive culture—art, jewelry, dance—helped preserve identity and sovereignty. Together, these works demonstrate that religious innovation was not new to the Kiowa and that they drew on both old and new spiritual sources to resist colonial pressures.