Avigail Eisenberg
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199291304
- eISBN:
- 9780191710704
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291304.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
The chapter examines the problem of authenticity in relation to cases about freedom of religion. The challenge of authenticity suggests that it is impossible to distinguish reliably between identity ...
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The chapter examines the problem of authenticity in relation to cases about freedom of religion. The challenge of authenticity suggests that it is impossible to distinguish reliably between identity claims which are ‘authentic’ for the people who make them and those which are made fraudulently in order to garner particular entitlements. Courts in Canada and the United States try to meet this challenge in relation to claims made by religious minorities either by refusing to assess all such claims or by establishing authenticity on the basis of individual sincerity of belief. In relation to two cases, one about the illegal use of peyote by a religious group and the other about the rights of Jews to erect succahs on their balconies, the chapter explains why a more direct, open, and structured consideration of identity claims provides a fairer basis upon which to assess religious identity claims and to negotiate the challenge of authenticity.Less
The chapter examines the problem of authenticity in relation to cases about freedom of religion. The challenge of authenticity suggests that it is impossible to distinguish reliably between identity claims which are ‘authentic’ for the people who make them and those which are made fraudulently in order to garner particular entitlements. Courts in Canada and the United States try to meet this challenge in relation to claims made by religious minorities either by refusing to assess all such claims or by establishing authenticity on the basis of individual sincerity of belief. In relation to two cases, one about the illegal use of peyote by a religious group and the other about the rights of Jews to erect succahs on their balconies, the chapter explains why a more direct, open, and structured consideration of identity claims provides a fairer basis upon which to assess religious identity claims and to negotiate the challenge of authenticity.
Robert C. Fuller
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195369175
- eISBN:
- 9780199871186
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369175.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Every experience has a neurochemical foundation. Even the slightest alteration in the brain's accustomed neurochemistry therefore has the potential to elicit unusual experiences that might have ...
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Every experience has a neurochemical foundation. Even the slightest alteration in the brain's accustomed neurochemistry therefore has the potential to elicit unusual experiences that might have strikingly spiritual qualities. This chapter draws upon recent studies in neuroscience to help understand the link between the “chemistry of consciousness” and episodes of religious innovation throughout American history. From Native American peyotism to the role of psychedelics in the 1960s counterculture movement, there have been clear and identifiable neurochemical substrates to Americans' quest for religious ecstasy.Less
Every experience has a neurochemical foundation. Even the slightest alteration in the brain's accustomed neurochemistry therefore has the potential to elicit unusual experiences that might have strikingly spiritual qualities. This chapter draws upon recent studies in neuroscience to help understand the link between the “chemistry of consciousness” and episodes of religious innovation throughout American history. From Native American peyotism to the role of psychedelics in the 1960s counterculture movement, there have been clear and identifiable neurochemical substrates to Americans' quest for religious ecstasy.
Stephen J. Kunitz
- Published in print:
- 1983
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520049260
- eISBN:
- 9780520909649
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520049260.003.0005
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter discusses traditional Navajo beliefs regarding disease causation, patterns of utilization of traditional healers, and changes from Navajo religion to peyotism and Christianity. In the ...
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This chapter discusses traditional Navajo beliefs regarding disease causation, patterns of utilization of traditional healers, and changes from Navajo religion to peyotism and Christianity. In the opinion of most observers, Navajos classify disease by etiologic agent, and each healing ceremony is known by the causal factors it is thought to cure. Though there are differences between peyotism, traditional Navajo religion, and Navajo Christianity, it is doubtful that these differences reflect corresponding differences in health concepts. There are insufficient data to determine whether ceremonial cures have either a beneficial or deleterious effect on any specific diseases. The Navajo predilection for using modern and traditional therapy collectively shows that a poor utilization of services is less the result of adherence to native beliefs than of difficulties of access to hospitals and of poor communication between patients and medical staff.Less
This chapter discusses traditional Navajo beliefs regarding disease causation, patterns of utilization of traditional healers, and changes from Navajo religion to peyotism and Christianity. In the opinion of most observers, Navajos classify disease by etiologic agent, and each healing ceremony is known by the causal factors it is thought to cure. Though there are differences between peyotism, traditional Navajo religion, and Navajo Christianity, it is doubtful that these differences reflect corresponding differences in health concepts. There are insufficient data to determine whether ceremonial cures have either a beneficial or deleterious effect on any specific diseases. The Navajo predilection for using modern and traditional therapy collectively shows that a poor utilization of services is less the result of adherence to native beliefs than of difficulties of access to hospitals and of poor communication between patients and medical staff.
Alexander S. Dawson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520285422
- eISBN:
- 9780520960909
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520285422.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
Even as some Americans saw in peyotism a fascinating and perhaps even salubrious Native American religion, others responded with a visceral disgust to what they saw as a degenerate and dangerous ...
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Even as some Americans saw in peyotism a fascinating and perhaps even salubrious Native American religion, others responded with a visceral disgust to what they saw as a degenerate and dangerous cult. This chapter traces the powerful response by missionaries, Indian Agents, and conservatives to the growing popularity of peyotism in Native American communities in the first decades of the twentieth century, beginning with an incident in which the famed temperance activist William “Pussyfoot” Johnson attempted to purchase all the peyote for sale in Laredo and then burn it in a symbolic gesture. The chapter also considers the origins of the peyote religions within Native American communities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Less
Even as some Americans saw in peyotism a fascinating and perhaps even salubrious Native American religion, others responded with a visceral disgust to what they saw as a degenerate and dangerous cult. This chapter traces the powerful response by missionaries, Indian Agents, and conservatives to the growing popularity of peyotism in Native American communities in the first decades of the twentieth century, beginning with an incident in which the famed temperance activist William “Pussyfoot” Johnson attempted to purchase all the peyote for sale in Laredo and then burn it in a symbolic gesture. The chapter also considers the origins of the peyote religions within Native American communities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
