Apologies for not including member names in the quotes for my responses...
Aren't you calling "belief" something that for many people is rather "insight"?
Don't many faithful people involved in a religion consider their beliefs to be insights gained from experience?
Also i do not agree with your assessment that there is an emergent religion. No one agrees completely on anything in its entirety. This congregation of Dmt users would be more akin to a vast group of equally different religious members that all agree that god exists but cant agree on anything else.
We all agree that dmt is powerful and that it is unique in some way. But after that no one completely agrees on much of anything else.
1, in no religious congregation do all the members agree completely, this is evidenced by internal dialog in any religion, thus the point seems ineffectual for invalidating a concept that a religion is being codified and moreover; promulgated.
Sets do not a religion make.
Agreed, but most religions have them.
why DMT? Why not all tryptamines, or all indole alkaloids, or all psychedelics?
Perception and doctrine.
Inquiry into psychedelics tends to, for many, lead to DMT, largely through the works of McKenna and the evolution of the claims associated with the work of Strassman.
What other psychedelic has received as much press labeling it as "spiritual"?
Consider even the emphasis of this site, can you find an analogous site that is dedicated largely to a single molecule, like mescaline, LSD or another? I cannot.
One question worth asking is why do people find the idea of a DMT religion forming so upsetting, distasteful or disturbing?
"Especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies"
I am assuming, in quoting this, you are meaning "entities".
No, I quoted the full definition of religion that I am working from, however that aspect of the quote is not relevant to my argument.
However there is a part of it I wish to address:
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
consider this poll here:
Poll Question : How is your morality since you discovered DMT?
The two highest results were 18% for:
I still act very ethically and to the same degree.
and 61% for:
I'm now more ethical, to a healthy level.
In this case the majority of people people who voted in the poll agreed with the claim that DMT informed, improved or affected their morality in a positive way. This is quite reminiscent of religion.
I am not making a claim that DMT users tend to make theological claims or share a specific cosmology.
Lets look at some other poll results though, and note that I am aware that these polls are small sample sizes, they merely reflect small groups and subsets willing to address the poll, which is a minority of registered users.
Poll Question : What do you believe hyperspace, and the entities enhabiting it, are?
The two highest rated answers:
Hyperspace is a real dimension, and its entities are conscious beings. 27 %
Hyperspace is a dimension within the mind, opening certain pathways. 51 %
It should be clear that there is an indication of common beliefs held by a majority.
So far in terms of these small groups we have 1 DMT informs or affects morality, and 2 DMT allows access to mental dimensions "opening" certain pathways. One could easily interpret both of these responses as indicating a concept that DMT provides insights affecting behavior and or personal transformation. Often we encounter in religions the claim by those who have faith in the religion that it improved their lives, made them better people etc, indeed this is often at the heart of their having faith, in this case faith in the transformative aspects of DMT, far from invalidating their experiences to say that this conforms to religious behavior, it is clear that these experiences are capable of being individually transformative and beneficial. In a way one might say that many users experience a form of rebirth, a form of psychedelic
born again aspect. The import of this is largely emotional, and it is common enough to be reinforced on a group level by shared consensus and experience.
Now while some of us certainly view DMT as an ambiguous tool able to have positive and negative effects in connotation, one of the central tenants to the DMT religion is that DMT is beneficial, not that it is ambiguous or neutral. And while we can identify a range of beliefs here and elsewhere about it, I would like you to consider that the majority of users view it as beneficial, that this is a shared aspect of belief. Likewise as the central aspect of the DMT religion, DMT must be viewed as beneficial, much like the members of any religion view their central figure or aspect as positive or beneficial, this is more than saying they like or enjoy it, often experiences viewed as beneficial are seen as intense and trying, not easy per say, but also that this intensity helps achieve resolution from the experience, this sets it apart from fans of say, a heavy metal band or a specific artist, the central object of the religion is personal benefit and or improvement, while in terms of fan culture the central object is enjoyment of say, a band for example.
here is another poll:
Poll Question : What are the Hyperspace beings?
the two most agreed with answers again:
Higher beings - Aliens, beings of higher conciousness or other dimnesions 45 %
Subconcious manifestations 43 %
In terms of diversity we have two concepts apparent, however they both have a common aspect, in terms of the first one, DMT allows access to beings that are ordinarily inaccessible, and insight is often viewed as resulting, in the second DMT allows access to ":manifestations" that as subconscious are again ordinarily inaccessible, and insight is often viewed as resulting. So despite a difference in views about the nature of the experience, it is feasible to note that the majority of responses indicates a belief that DMT allows access to ordinarily inaccessible states or realms and that this results in insights and or transformative experiences that are viewed as beneficial.
Here is another poll:
Poll Question : How have you encountered Entities
the highest rated answer is:
CLEARLY encountered; I think They exist 65 %
In this case 65% of those who responded said that they had encountered entities and that they existed! Note that this existence does not include a claim about what they are, or where they originate from, it merely involves the concept that they exist and are able to be encountered.
In all of these cases the responses to the polls was not particularly large, often around 20-50 people. However they appear to illustrate that at least among the respondents there are shared belief sets. Part of my point is that those beliefs correspond to the perception of insights as well as transformative states that are largely viewed as having spiritual connotations or relevance and that the experience informs or transforms morality. This correlates strongly with a religious community, and I believe that DMT religion is a legitimate religion that is being gradually organized and involves shared beliefs, arising from common perceptions, influenced both by experience and doctrine.
