Conference: Entheogens and
Re-enchantment in a Secular Age

Over the past two decades there has been an increasing desire among secular Americans to take seriously beliefs and experiences which do not fall within the boundaries of the secular worldview. From the “ontological turn” in academia that seeks to “take spirits seriously” to the mainstreaming of psychedelics and the mystical experiences they occasion, the contemporary moment is marked by a growing hunger for alternatives to the dominant, secular modes of relating to ourselves, our environment, and our planet. We are gathering a group of anthropologists and historians, theologians and philosophers, mental health specialists, and spiritual practitioners, to discuss, debate, and explore the ways non-religious people use entheogens as tools for healing, spiritual growth, and personal and collective transformation. What do such movements teach us about modern yearning and the relationship between psychedelics and spirituality? What does the secular turn to mystical experience tell us about the future of politics, religion, science, and secular life itself?

This conference seeks to explore the changing place, role, and meaning of mystical experience in secular life today. Bridging the worlds of theory and practice, we aim to bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners who not only study secular practices of re-enchantment, but actively live them.

The conference is being supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, entitled: Ethical Substance: Psychedelic Medicine in Times of Social and Spiritual Crisis.