Author: Mary K. Matossian
Mary K. Matossian is a retired professor of history. She is the author of four books, including Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics, and History (Yale University Press, 1989).
Visions and the Origins of Christianity
In 2006, Ronald R. Griffiths and his team at Johns Hopkins University demonstrated in a double-blind experiment that the hallucinogen psilocybin, extracted from a kind of mushroom, could induce mystical experiences. They chose thirty-six participants who at least intermittently had participated in religious and spiritual activities. All but one were college graduates. Two-thirds reported two …