Psychedelic Churches Need Philosophy of Religion

Many new psychedelic religious organizations have recently emerged in the United States. These psychedelic churches operate in a legal gray area, which provides job opportunities not just for lawyers but also for philosophers of religion. To gain legal permission to use psychedelics, these churches...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Eric Steinhart
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/641
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Summary:Many new psychedelic religious organizations have recently emerged in the United States. These psychedelic churches operate in a legal gray area, which provides job opportunities not just for lawyers but also for philosophers of religion. To gain legal permission to use psychedelics, these churches need philosophically well-developed doctrines. Philosophers of religion can help develop these psychedelic doctrines. Looking at the law from a philosophical perspective, I derive six criteria which these psychedelic doctrines should satisfy. As an illustration, I show how a modernized Platonism can satisfy these criteria. Just as bioethicists can help in the practice of medicine, so philosophers of religion can help with the legal proceedings of new psychedelic churches.
ISSN:2077-1444