Spiritual Promiscuity, Psychedelic Interdependence, and The First World Congress of Sorcery

Annie Dillard's 1974 book A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1975, reflects a personal spirituality Dillard later called 'spiritual promiscuity'—a blend of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Sufism. This mixing of traditions was part of a broader countercultural reaction in the 1970s against monolithic religious systems, where individuals asserted autonomy by building innovative, personal spiritual systems. The psychedelic movement and psychedelic experiences of the era fostered perceptions of interdependence between humans and non-human entities, heightening curiosity about non-hegemonic spiritualities and making interdenominational exploration a cultural zeitgeist.

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Abstract

In 1975, American writer Annie Dillard won the Pulitzer Prize for her book A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, in which she describes her year-long journey through Virginia, reflecting on transcendence in nature.1 The book reflects what, decades later, Dillard called her “spiritual promiscuity,” a personal belief system blending Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Sufism.2 Deliberately mixing spiritual traditions to construct an otherworldly, private landscape, this stance is built upon a shared transgressive and exploratory theological ethos of the counterculture era during the 1970s. Reacting against the doctrines of monolithic religious systems such as Christianity, spiritually promiscuous individuals asserted their autonomy in building innovative and personal spiritual systems to reinterpret their immediate realities and beyond. The psychedelic movement and psychedelic experiences prevalent during this time allowed a growing sense of interdependence between human beings and non-human entities. These perceptions of continuity and unity spurred a heightened curiosity around non-hegemonic spiritualities, leading to the establishment of interdenominational explorations as a cultural zeitgeist of this period.