Research Interests

Philosophy and psychology of mystical experience, depth psychology, reception theory, Occulture, Esotericism, and Gnostic Studies. 

Biography

Matthew J. Dillon is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Transcendence and Transformation Initiative at Harvard Divinity School. He earned his PhD at Rice University in the Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism concentration in 2017. His research kaleidoscopically blends three distinct specializations: Gnostic Studies, depth psychology, and religion in culture. Matt has published articles and chapters on conspirituality, neo-Gnostic churches, Gnosticism in the works of Grant Morrison, Gnosticism and attachment theory, theorizing Gnosticism, and the imaginal in Corbin and James Hillman. His first book, The Kingdom is Within You: The Lost Gospels and Post-Christianity in America, is under contract with University Press of Virginia. He recently launched a podcast entitled Pop Apocalypse that explores the mythic and the mystical, the paranormal and the psychedelic as they appear in popular culture.

In addition to his courses at CIIS, Matt has taught at Rice University, DePauw University, and Harvard Divinity School. 

Education

PhD, Rice University

MA, Rice University

BA, Philosophy and Religion, SFSU (summa cum laude)