Raves and Stigma Surrounding Them

Raves are often thought of as a “religious experience” displaying the audience as a “dance tribe” causing these electronic dance music culture “as spiritualties of life” (St John 12). There is no denying that the rave consists of “cultures whose participants committed to an ethos most famously expressed as Peace, Love, Unity and Respect (PLUR)” (St John 3). These participants have reported life- changing experiences, transcendence, and even conveying anecdotes of “ascension and re- enchantment” (St John 3). According to Graham St. John, “ [the] rave exemplifies the cultural phenomenon of religion, particularly that which, Bastide regarded ‘instituant’ or ‘savage’ religion rather than the domesticated or ‘instituted’ forms associated with institutional religion,” (St. John 3). Essentially, the rave functions as a religious community but not in the traditional sense; the DJ is thought of as the shaman and the dance floor is the communita (St John 5). Additionally, both the “ecstatic” experiences and ritual framework of raves intensifies the sense of belonging and demonstrates communal characteristics. The ravers experience a reconnection endemic and is considered to be “tribal” by the participants (St. John 9-10). Furthermore, this tribal nature of the ravers allows them to experience a sense of connectedness and inner peace with themselves. When a raver described this feeling as stating, “The MDMA experience makes you perceive by a kind of intuition, the real essence of your being. It’s not something elaborated by your conscious or unconscious mind, it’s something you suddenly realize you know without any doubt. You know the truth because you have experienced it. Now that you know that you, me, everything is one, or God as you wi...

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...and trying to hook up with guys or girls or whatever, you know, and it’s like the music is more of a background thing,” revealing the disruption of solidarity with regard to music through extensive drug use (Kavanugh and Anderson 21). Furthermore, detachment is caused by those who believe

Additionally, drug use is expanding to areas outside of the rave scene.

Works Cited

Kavanaugh, Philip R., and Tammy L. Anderson. "Solidarity And Drug Use In The Electronic Dance Music Scene." Sociological Quarterly 49.1 (2008): 181-208. Print.

St John, Graham. "Electronic Dance Music Culture And Religion: An Overview." Culture and Religion 7.1 (2006): 1-25. Academia.edu. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Boeri, M. W., C. E. Sterk, and K. W. Elifson. "Rolling beyond Raves: Ecstasy use outside the Rave Setting." Journal of Drug Issues 34.4 (2004): 831-860. Sage Journal. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.