Psychedelic Sacraments
By Pardis Mahdavi, Professor of Anthropology, University of La Verne. Originally published by The Conversation.
Several mental health practitioners and scientists have been staunch advocates of psychedelic-assisted therapy based. What is somewhat new, however, is the addition of a handful of high-profile clergy to the list of supporters.
A recent study published by New York University and Johns Hopkins University highlights a number of religious practitioners, ranging from Episcopal ministers to Catholic priests, rabbis and Zen monks: 24 of the 29 participants made the case that psychedelics can lead to profound spiritual experiences.
A May 2025 article in The New Yorker noted that several of the clergy who participated in the NYU/Johns Hopkins study went on to become vocal advocates of psychedelics as spiritual medicine. While the sample size was small and heavily composed of Christian religious leaders, the findings are noteworthy. Some 96% of study participants described the use of psychedelics as one of the top five “most spiritually significant experiences of their lives.”
An NIH study conducted in 2019 focused on spiritual encounters experienced through DMT, or N,N-dimethyltryptamine. The study revealed that 75% of the 42 participants reported an “intense mystical encounter” and believed that it brought them closer to the divine. They narrated the experience as one in which they saw flashes of white light, heard angelic sounds, felt tingling in their bodies and had an overall sensation of God’s love.
Leaders and members of churches that use psychedelics as “sacrament” describe the role of these substances as facilitating a deeper connection with the divine. The psychedelics are offered at the beginning of weekly services by the religious leader, and then the congregants move into singing, chanting or prayer. Several leaders of such churches whom I have interviewed have described the role of the psychedelics as facilitating a deeper focus on God for longer periods of time.
This article was originally published by The Conversation and is partially reproduced here without the permission of the author, who is not affiliated with this website or its views.
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