In recent years, there has been a radical shift in societal attitudes toward psychoactive compounds known as psychedelics. Once taboo, these compounds are now being evaluated for medical use and utilized for spiritual as well as recreational purposes among elites and privileged groups.

Of course, the use of psychoactive compounds did not begin in the 2020s, or the 1960s for that matter: indigenous populations have regarded them as sacred agents of healing and/or spirituality for centuries, perhaps millennia. Long before these compounds were labeled as ‘drugs,’ they were regarded as something akin to sacraments.

But now, the so-called “psychedelic renaissance” is rapidly advancing so quickly (despite some setbacks) that legal, theological, and pharmaceutical discourses are struggling to catch up.  It has posed novel legal, ethical, and philosophical questions, including the adjudication of religious claims, the boundaries of religious liberty, the tension between religion (or spirituality) and secular medicine, the balancing of civil liberties and public health, and the widely varying political consequences of consciousness expansion. 

While most of the changes in recent years have been in the medicalization context, this seminar will focus on religious contexts, which are also changing rapidly.  We will look at the range of religious uses of psychoactive compounds, the ways in which some of those uses are legally recognized while others are not, and the emerging questions in this rapidly evolving space.

During week six, Harvard will be hosting the first-ever symposium on psychedelics in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities. Attendance at any two hours of the symposium will replace the March 4 session. This will be a unique opportunity to learn about the cutting edge of this emerging field.