“UFO Belief is a Modern Outlet for Ancient Spiritual Yearnings”

Francesco Dimitri writes for Psyche: The Raëlians are not the only UFO religion born in the 20th century. They are the most laid-back, with their dancing nights and their ‘sensual meditation’, a far cry from the nihilism of another, Heaven’s Gate, whose members died in a mass suicide in 1997. The Aetherius Society is an … Read more“UFO Belief is a Modern Outlet for Ancient Spiritual Yearnings”

Thanksgiving/Day of the Dead in Cicely, Alaska (Northern Exposure, 1992)

The good people of Cicely, Alaska enjoy their eccentric, Day of the Dead-inflected version of Thanksgiving in this scene from Northern Exposure (1992). As explained by Marilyn Whirlwind (Elaine Miles), the indigenous people of Cicely do not regard the orthodox Thanksgiving as a day of celebration. In fact, they carry a lot of ancestral anger … Read moreThanksgiving/Day of the Dead in Cicely, Alaska (Northern Exposure, 1992)

Lamplight

Author Craig Chalquist on Lamplight, the religion of his Assembling Terrania Cycle of stories: Even more than readers, writers find themselves astonished by unexpected plot twists. In the story “Ten Lamps,” a mysterious philosopher named Simeon writes down ten cosmic operating principles that work at any scale, even inside us. One of these Lamps declares … Read moreLamplight

“Psychedelics show religion isn’t the only route to spirituality”

Chris Letheby writes for Psyche: Mystical-type experiences are the phenomena that people most commonly feel to be spiritual. So, if we want to know whether spirituality is necessarily always focused on non-naturalistic ideas, one obvious approach is to ask people who’ve had such an experience what it meant to them. Qualitative researchers have done this, … Read more“Psychedelics show religion isn’t the only route to spirituality”

“The zeitgeist is changing. A strange, romantic backlash to the tech era looms”

Ross Barkan writes for The Guardian on the strange meldings of the nascent neo-Romantic movement: Not all of the old romantics were opposed to Judeo-Christian religion, but they were drawn, like the youth of today, to spiritual realms that operated far beyond any biblical teachings or rationalist precepts. They were deeply wary of technology’s encroachment … Read more“The zeitgeist is changing. A strange, romantic backlash to the tech era looms”

“Beyond Belief: The Cults of Burning Man”

An excerpt from the ever-increasingly-iconic Erik Davis’ 2006 essay on emergent cultic activity at Black Rock City: Thus it is with some trepidation that I turn to one of the more vexing questions that one might ask about Burning Man: can or should we speak of the event as a sacred gathering? Even if we … Read more“Beyond Belief: The Cults of Burning Man”