Trance, Possession, and Altered States

Week 3 - Discussion 1

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Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Trance, Possession, and Altered States

Discuss the ritual and religious use of otherwise illegal substances, based on the readings in Chapter 5 and the assigned videos. Do you think that people should be able to use controlled and/or illegal substances in religious rituals? Why or why not? Who should decide which uses of drugs and other substances are ritual or just secular and, therefore, illegal uses? Is it fair to compare the Santo Daime’s use of Ayahuasca to American ravers’ use of psychotropic drugs? Why or why not? Do you think that the use of trance, possession, and other altered states of consciousness can be a window into religious experience? Why or why not?
 

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.
 

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. If possible, choose one post that presents an argument for allowing the religious and ritual use of illicit substances and another that does not.