PT520 – From the Eleusinian Mysteries to Modern Mysticism: The Role of Religion in the Psychedelic Experience, with Charles Stang

Psychedelics Today

In this episode, Joe interviews Charles Stang: Professor of Early Christian Thought and the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.

The Center was created to gain a better understanding of world religions by bringing scholars from their respective countries to study and live alongside Divinity School students. As students and Stang started to become interested in psychedelics, a zoom series, "Psychedelics and the Future of Religion," began, and the school just hosted their second conference, "Psychedelic Intersections: Cross Cultural Manifestations of the Sacred." Next year's Psychedelics and Spirituality conference will take place February 15, 2025.

He discusses:

• Harvard's psychedelic history, and why it's important to not erase the past out of the interest of presumed legitimacy
• How people are consistently having extraordinary experiences with psychedelics, but not always with religion: Are people becoming less (or more) religious?
• The Immortality Key, the Eleusinian mysteries, and psychedelic enthusiasts' need to connect Christianity with psychedelics
• Psychedelics and other mystery religions, like Hermeticism and Mithraism
• Why religion is important to so many people, and how it helps us understand the "more-than-human"

and much more. For links, head to the show notes page.