{"product_id":"stairways-to-heaven-drugs-in-american-religious-history-hardcover","title":"Stairways to Heaven: Drugs in American Religious History - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert W. Fuller\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Native Americans' use of tobacco for solemnizing oaths to the spread of New Age religious beliefs in Haight-Ashbury coffeehouses, drugs have been intimately associated with American spirituality. In \u003ci\u003eStairways to Heaven\u003c\/i\u003e, Robert Fuller presents a rarely considered but very important dimension of American religious history -- the use of mind-altering substances as an aid to spirituality -- in a clear, engaging style. Fuller's entertaining narrative illustrates how such substances as peyote, jimson weed, hallucinogenic mushrooms, LSD, marijuana, wine, and coffee have stimulated ecstatic revelations of spiritual truth and strengthened the social bonds that sustain communities of faith.\u003ci\u003eStairways to Heaven\u003c\/i\u003e is unique in the study of American religious history in two ways: first, it demonstrates that the ritual use of mind-altering substances has contributed to the innovation and diversity that characterize American religious life; second, it uses interdisciplinary research into the religious uses of drugs to shed light on the controversial legal, ethical, and spiritual controversies that surround drug use in the contemporary United States. The book's final chapter assesses the usefulness of drugs in the quest for a mature, life-affirming, community-building, creative spirituality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert C. Fuller\u003c\/b\u003e is a preeminent historian and interpreter of American religious life. He is professor of religious studies at Bradley University. His previous books include \u003ci\u003eMesmerism and the American Cure of Souls, Alternative Medicine and American Religious Life, Americans and the Unconscious\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eReligion and Wine.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 248\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.84 x 9.32 x 6.28 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 01, 2001\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42676147454048,"sku":"9780813366128","price":41.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/1922\/9280\/files\/Qmp2enN5UVlMVFJQMXBDdkdKaFRYUT09.webp?v=1775044375","url":"https:\/\/bijoucc.myshopify.com\/products\/stairways-to-heaven-drugs-in-american-religious-history-hardcover","provider":"CARIBBEAN CONNECT","version":"1.0","type":"link"}