Discuss the ritual and religious use of otherwise illegal substances

Trance, Possession, and Altered States

Trance, Possession, and Altered States. 1st Post Due by Day 3. 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.

DQ2 Health and Healing

Health and Healing. 1st Post Due by Day 3. Compare and contrast the various forms of healing and ethnomedicine exhibited in this week’s assigned articles and videos. How do cultural values and socio-economic conditions shape healing practices? Should western medical intervention have taken place in any of these examples? Why or why not? Discuss the example of the “Nacirema” culture in Miner’s article.What differences and similarities do you see between this culture’s health rituals and that of most contemporary Americans?

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.